Christmas at Camp Half-Blood
by Percyjacksonfan3
Summary: It's the first Christmas since the Giant War and the camp decides to have a party/dance! This story will describe how each couple's night went and what they did! Lot's of fluff and plenty of cute moments so maybe try it out? The pairings will be realistic couples only and sorry for the crappy prologue, the remaining story is much, much better! Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, that I promise you. I know this idea has been wayyy too overused but I'm feeling in the spirit and really wanted to write down my own version so here it is! Sorry it's kinda crappy, the next chapters will be better, I just needed a prologue. **

**Enjoy!**

oooOOOooo

Zeus wasn't sure how he had been convinced to do it.

Maybe it had been because after the giant war he felt the demigods needed this. Maybe it was because all of the gods had actually voted unanimously for once, all agreeing that this idea was a good one. It might even had been because this was the first year in longer than he cared to remember that he had a child at Camp Half-Blood.

Whatever it was, he had agreed to it. Misting himself in an illusion of a new demigod who had recently come to Camp Half-Blood, Zeus took a deep breath and walked into Chiron's office in the Big House.

The only hint of who he really was were his eyes. Stormy gray they were the eyes of the King of the Gods. The rest of his appearance had changed.

He wore an orange t-shirt (why couldn't the demigods just wear suits?) and jeans. His hair was a sandy blonde, he had tan skin and instead of being muscly he was lithe and thin.

So he walked, without bothering to knock, into the centaur's office.

Chiron looked up from sorting some papers and Zeus saw his tail swish. Surprise crossed the centaurs face but he quickly masked it. "I'm sorry young man, I don't believe I recognize you."

Zeus smiled cockily. He was posing as someone of about 12 years of age but he was the King of the Gods, he could act however he wanted. "Hey Chiron. It's Z- Zach." He said, stumbling a bit. He was trying to act like a kid these days would act and in his opinion he was doing pretty well. "I wanted to suggest to you that the demigods should have a Christmas dance."

The centaur's eyes narrowed. "A dance."

Zeus nodded. "Yeah bro, a dance. It would be so... groovy." Did people still say groovy? He thought they did... or was that 50 years ago? He shrugged, watching the centaur for his reaction.

Chiron set down the papers that were currently in his hands. "A christmas dance." He stated again. "Because it would be groovy."

The god nodded again, turning serious. "Chiron the kids just got through a war. They lost more lives than they can count and not to mention how much more horrific this one was than the Titan War. The kids are still estranged from their parents, it's their first holiday to celebrate after the war." Zeus's eyes pierced those of the centaur. "It will be good for them. And they'll have to obey by your rules."

Chiron studied him. "And the gods agree with this?"

Zeus nodded, not catching on. "It was their idea. They were all for it."

Chiron thought for a minute before drawing himself up to his full height. "Well Zeus, it will be as you command. This year will be Camp Half-Blood's first ever Christmas party."

Zeus nodded. "Very well. I'm glad we could come to an agreement."

Chiron smiled. "I'll make the anouncement tonight during supper. The dance will end at one am. It will be held in the dining pavilion. The kids will be allowed to roam the rest of the Camp with no access to cabins during the time of the party. They will be allowed to give gifts and it will be formal. There will be hot chocolate and candy canes, chocolate and decorations." The centaur frowned. "Am I missing anything?"

Zeus nodded. "There will be a Christmas tree placed somewhere in the pavilion and at exactly 12:00 the gods will have a surprise. Don't worry Chiron, it won't be anything too crazy, just something to make them smile."

Chiron nodded. "It will be as you say."

"Good." The god rose from the chair he was sitting on. "Thank you, Chiron, that will be all. Oh," Zeus said and turned around. "tell the demigods it was your idea."

Chiron bowed his head. "Very well, Zeus."

Zeus nodded, still not catching on to the fact that his disguise had been seen through, and quickly left the office. He took a last look at the camp with all of the demigods running around, before dissolving into nothing more than a cool wind.

oooOOOooo

**The following chapters will be one demigod from each of my favourite couples POV. They will write about their night and how it went for that specific couple. They will be much better than this prologue.**

**Review? Maybe I could make it to 5?**

**Love you all! **

**Percyjacksonfan3**


	2. Katie and Travis

**Disclaimer: You and I both know none of this belongs to me!**

oooOOOooo

When Katie heard the announcement at dinner she dropped her fork onto her plate and let her mouth hang open in surprise.

Never, in all of her years at Camp, had there ever been a dance or party. That was 6 years.

And now they were having a Christmas dance on Christmas Eve?

What was this madness?

After the surprise wore off, dread replaced it. Or at least for Katie it did. Everyone else... well the reactions to the announcement were mixed. Aphrodite girls were squealing, boys were staring at Chiron like he had just told them they had to have a life-threatening surgery and many other girls were either whispering and giggling to their friends or experiencing something similar to Katie. Clarisse especially looked like she was going to throw up.

Katie's cabin had broken into whispers, most happy and excited. Lindsey was waving to her almost boyfriend Carl from Iris cabin and Peter was asking Chloe for advice on how to ask his girlfriend to go with him.

Katie couldn't understand why they were so happy. It was a formal dance. That meant makeup, dresses, fancy hair, fancy shoes, no dirt under her perfect manicure... That was not who Katie was.

And Travis-

Oh dear Zeus! Travis would be expecting her to be the beauty of the night. He would expect nothing less of his girlfriend right, and wouldn't want to be embarrassed by showing up with her? What if Katie wasn't good enough? She was nothing compared to the Aphrodite girls without the makeup but even when she tried Katie was sure she would end up looking like a pig in a cow barn.

Aka, totally out of place and wrong.

Katie didn't want to embarrass Travis like that, didn't want him to have to be embarrassed because of her.

So Katie closed her eyes and sighed in resignation. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and Katie would do anything she could to make this night perfect for Travis and herself.

Even if it meant doing the one thing Katie had sworn to never, ever do.

oooOOOooo

Katie sat up from the comfortable lean back chair she had been on and opened her eyes, looking into the mirror.

It took several seconds for her to process what she was seeing and when she did her jaw dropped. Surprise didn't begin to cover what she felt at seeing... whatever the Hades that was staring back at her out of the mirror.

Her skin looked glowing and flawless. Her eyebrows had been plucked to perfection. Her eyes were lined on the top with dark brown eyeliner and then pink sparkly eye shadow covered the lids. Her eyelashes looked long and full. Her lips looked plump and actually kissable. With a layer of chap stick, pink lip stain (light, otherwise Katie would probably get it all over her teeth or face) and a light coat of clear sparkling lip gloss to set them off Katie's lips looked good.

Really good.

She had on the lightest hint of blush to set off her face makeup.

Her armpits and legs were waxed and thank gods her skin was turning back from pink to her tan. Katie had yelped, hit and even screamed once but Piper, Drew, Lacy and Arianne had persisted. No hair was left on her body except for the top of her head.

Her nails were a nice shiny pink. Not too bright or flashy, just enough to be noticeable, but even that was making Katie slightly uncomfortable. This was all so girly and fancy. It wasn't her.

She sighed. Maybe it would be nice to just be a girl tonight. Just a normal girl who worried over her appearance and her boyfriend. Not Katie. Just a girl.

Travis would like that, Katie hoped. Maybe she could prove that she could be just like any other girl he had ever liked. Not Katie the farm girl or Katie the tomboy. A girl like Darcy from Aphrodite, all high end clothes and perfect makeup. Or Helena from the Hecate cabin with her perfect lips and chest. The one who was always laughing and had a group of girls around her 24/7.

But Katie's attention was drawn away from her thoughts when she looked at the mirror again. Her face was perfect, her nails better than she ever could have got them.

Then there was her brown/dirty blonde hair.

There was two perfectly curled strands left to hang loose, on framing either side of her face, and a sleek black headband pushing the rest back. The back had been raised ever so slightly and curled to hang in loose curls down her neck and to reach the top of her back. She had in teardrop green earrings (to bring out the flecks of green in her hazel eyes) and to accentuate her naturally tan skin.

"Gods, Piper," Katie whispered in awe. "Aphrodite herself couldn't have done better."

The daughter of Aphrodite smiled and shrugged. "It was easy considering how much natural beauty I had to work with."

Katie shot her a thankful smile. "You're a miracle worker. People have been saying for years..."

"That you were a beauty?" Piper interrupted her. "I completely agree, and tonight you'll be able to show them that your amazingness is just as much your looks as your personality."

Katie frowned slightly at her before sighing. She didn't want to ruin her makeup. "So what can I do to make this up to you?" Katie asked, gesturing at her hair and face.

Piper waved away her words, turning to look in the mirror at her own reflection. "It was a friend giving a friend a makeover Kates, nothing more. Besides," Piper continued after a second. "I never actually had another girl friend I could do this with. It was nice."

Another frown. "I can't just let you-"

Piper turned, hands on her hips, multi-colored eyes flashing. "You can and you will. Don't make me come over there and ruin that hairdo."

Katie laughed, short and sweet. "Well thanks. I guess."

Piper winked before turning around to search in the wardrobe behind her- yes the Aphrodite cabin had yet another wardrobe in their bathroom- and moved a few hangers. "It was nothing. Now your dress is hanging up on my bunk railing, and tell me if any of my siblings laid a hand on it. I forbade them from even staring too long in case they somehow ruined it. Hopefully you won't have to fight them for it."

Katie smiled before standing up and making her way out of the bathroom. With 4 sinks, too many drawers to count, a shower, a toilet, a wardrobe and more counter space for makeup products than Katie had ever seen before, the Aphrodite bathroom was almost half the entire cabin.

Katie shook her head before opening the door.

The sight that met her left her mouth hanging open once again.

Was the entire girl population of Camp in here? It seemed like it to Katie, what with more heads than she could count and the volume of a diesel truck coming from the crowd. Aphrodite girls were busy giving makeovers to any and every girl who was bare of even a hint of cosmetics. Dresses, shoes, tank tops and slim fit jeans were laying on the floor. Necklaces, bracelets and earrings were being looked for and music was blaring from about 3 different Ipod's- each playing a different song.

After much pushing and shoving Katie made her way to Piper's bunk. That was where she found her dress.

Thankfully it looked untouched. It was strapless, the upper half being pure white. The skirt was soft, light green and made of layers of soft feeling fabric. The skirt only reached to her below her knees but Katie was used to colder weather. Besides there was no snow, no cold winds and it could pass for the middle of a Canadian summer. For a farmers girl, it was warm enough.

Katie changed, uncaring of who would see her. They were all girls and Katie was pretty sure none of the others would be looking. Besides it only took 3 seconds and Katie didn't want to intrude on Piper's hard fought over bathroom space.

Her shoes were heels, but barely. With less than an inch of heel they were strappy silver and comfortable. The nail polish on her toes was the same as the polish on her fingers.

"Gods, Katie," Arianne, the blue eyed, pale-skinned, burgundy haired daughter of Aphrodite, said. "You're gorgeous."

Katie blushed. "You can hardly talk," she returned. "You're a knock out without any of this stuff," she said gesturing to her face makeup.

Arianne had been one of Katie's biggest surprised when she had come back to camp for Winter Break. A daughter of Aphrodite, Katie had fully expected her to be a miniature Drew what with her natural beauty and parentage.

That had not been the case.

Arianne was 17 years old and one of the most kind, considerate and yes, gorgeous, people Katie had ever known. She was funny, friendly and Katie wasn't sure she could find a single flaw in the girl. While she didn't share much about her past (all Katie knew was there had been a very messy divorce and ... unspeakable acts done by the step-mother she had loved with all her heart) Arianne was easy to know. She focused on others rather than herself and was always there to talk to about anything. She was fabulous at not judging or selling secrets. Katie knew that when the girl graduated she wanted to be a marriage counselor and family therapist.

There had been no one Katie could think of that fit the job more.

Arianne shrugged. "You seem to think so. But nobody else does."

Katie scoffed at the lie but Arianne spoke again before Katie could contradict her. She spoke with a mischievous look in her eye and expectation in her voice. "So you and Travis will be hanging out all night, huh?"

Katie blushed again. "Yeah, I think so."

Arianne nodded, satisfied. "Good. You two are great together."

Katie laughed, ignoring the warm feeling that coursed through her at the girl's words. "Yeah right. We hated each other before we started dating."

The girl's blue eyes twinkled. "Well you know what they say," she said shrugging. "Love and hate are just two sides of the same coin."

Katie feigned stupidity. "Do they say that?" She asked, placing a questioning finger on her lips and looking off into space as if thinking. "I can't say I remember ever hearing that."

Arianne laughed and lightly hit her shoulder. "Well I have to go get ready, but you have a good time tonight and tomorrow I expect to hear about everything!"

Katie nodded, amused. "See ya, Arriane."

The girl smiled again before weaving away through the crowd. With only half an hour until the dance began, she took the shortest time to get ready out of all the Aphrodite kids except for Piper, then again tonight Piper was going all out.

And Katie was including the boys in that.

The next half hour went by faster than Katie could process. First she was sitting on Piper's bed talking to any free person who had a moment to spare and the next about 40 girl campers were being herded out of the cabin and towards the dining pavilion.

At 7:00 pm in winter on December 24th it was growing dark. Stars were starting to appear and the moon shone bright and full against the rapidly darken sky. Since the pavilion had no walls, just pillars that held the roof up, it was roughly the same temperature as outside. Thankfully the gods controlled the temperature in camp and apparently they had decided to be thoughtful and send a warmth throughout the place.

It was nice, Katie thought as she pulled the white shawl around herself. It felt as if the gods actually approved of this activity. Like maybe they were watching.

When Katie and the rest of the girls reached the pavilion they all froze in their tracks.

Christmas lights adorned the edge of the roof, wrapping all the way around. There was a chandelier that had appeared in the middle of the roof, hanging directly over a large space cleared for a dance floor. There was one entrance way and the tables had been pushed against the side of the wall and were filled with snacks- there was some actual unhealthy candy!- and drinks. Was that hot chocolate? Katie thought so. The lights were dim, somehow giving off a dance club sort of feeling and Katie saw tinsel and decorations in every possible place. She also spotted some mistletoe, craftily put up in a corner. Strategic. It would be hard to see the couples there but it was obvious that was where the mistletoe was.

Katie wondered if maybe she and Travis would head there at one point or another tonight. To be perfectly honest she really wouldn't mind if they did.

But the thing that caught most of her attention was the absolutely gigantic Christmas Tree that was placed in between two pillars on the opposite side of the pavilion. The pine tree must have been about 10 feet tall and there were lights, tinsel, bobbles, stars, decorations, angels and even a glowing golden star that sat on the top.

It was absolutely gorgeous.

Katie probably would have stayed there all night staring at it if Piper hadn't touched her shoulder. "Ready Katie?"

She searched the faces of the many demigods already in the pavilion, taking a deep breath when she spotted Travis drinking hot chocolate with Connor. "As ready as I'll ever be."

Piper nodded and linked her arm with Katie's. "Well then let's go."

They made an imposing sight, Katie guessed from the way people melted past to let them walk by. Stares were directed at them and Katie found herself blushing.

"So I forgot to ask earlier, but where's Annabeth?" Katie asked Piper, raising her voice to be heard over the music. "I thought you and her would get ready together."

Piper shrugged. "She said she and Percy were going to hang out before this thing. I guess they're getting ready together too."

Katie raised an eyebrow and kept her gaze studiously forward. "Alone?"

Piper stopped for a second before grinning and moving forwards again. Katie giggled, she really couldn't help herself. "Dear Zeus Katie, what happened to the sweet innocent farming girl I used to know?"

Katie grinned wickedly as they hung up their sweaters and shawls. "She started dating Travis Stoll."

Piper winked and nodded. "Too true. Look I think I see Jason, will you be okay finding Travis by yourself?"

Nervousness appeared in Katie's stomach but she nodded and smiled, pulling her arm away from Piper's. "I'll see you later then."

Piper grinned and Katie was surprised to see nervousness flicker in the girls eyes as well. "See you later."

With a backward glance and a wave Piper disappeared into the crowd, leaving Katie alone.

She glanced around, spotting Travis almost immediately. He was staring at her, his brown eyes capturing her so completely that for a moment Katie forgot to breathe. She smiled at him and put one shaking foot forward, then another. Travis left his brother standing there with his mouth still open from whatever he had been in the middle of saying and started walking towards Katie.

They met in the middle of the pavilion and Katie just couldn't seem to look away from her boyfriend's eyes. When had they become so big and endearing? That look he was giving her made her want to melt and Katie couldn't help it. The intimacy of their stare made her shiver.

"Hey Katie Kat." Travis almost whispered to her when they were standing in front of one another. She wasn't sure how she heard him over the music that was blasting but she did and it made Katie's heart soften just a little more.

It took a moment for her to look away from his face but when she did she noticed he was actually wearing formal clothes for once. Jeans, a dark blue shirt, even a black clip on tie. He was wearing sneakers and his hair was the same curly mess as always but Katie thought he had never, ever looked more handsome.

"Hi," she practically breathed back. Her mind was blank and suddenly Katie was the nervous, embarrassed, stuttering girl she had been at the start of their relationship after the Giant War.

Travis's gaze had also flicked down to take in what she was wearing and Katie saw him gulp which she found extremely adorable. "Gods Katie, you look..."

She waited, hopeful for whatever he was about to say, nervousness rising in her unbidden once again.

"...absolutely amazing." He finished, looking at her shyly.

She smiled, warmth filling her and all traces of anxiety gone. "Well you don't look so bad yourself."

Travis smiled and bowed suddenly, holding out a hand to her. "Shall we, my lady?"

Katie giggled and curtsied. "We shall, my good sir."

Travis laughed and led her to the hot chocolate where Connor was still standing, although now he was talking to Grover and Juniper. His eyes never left hers, even when he accidentally ran into his brother Chris Rodriguez and almost knocked the guy to the floor. After a muttered 'sorry bro' he was on his way again, leading Katie to the refreshments.

"Hey Katie," Connor said when they reached him and the happy couple of Grover and Juniper. "You look nice."

Katie opened her mouth to thank him but Travis cut her off with a growl. "Back off Connor, she's mine."

Connor raised an eyebrow at Katie and jerked his head towards Travis as if to say 'get a load of this guy'. "Easy bro, I was just complimenting her."

Travis frowned. "Go find your own girlfriend to compliment."

"Dude!" Connor exclaimed. "Calm down, it was harmless. Besides, Claire isn't here yet. I think she was gonna show up with Nyssa."

Travis nodded. "Well maybe you should go look for her."

"Travis!" Katie said. "Stop being so rude," she scolded.

Travis looked at her and blushed and Connor started laughing. "I see how it is. It's obvious who wears the pants in this relationship."

Travis's eyes narrowed dangerously and his words came out an almost growl. "Connor..."

His brother held up his hands in surrender. "Alright, alright," he said. "I'm going. Have fun you two," he said, winking at Katie. "But not too much fun."

This time it was both Katie and Travis who blushed as Connor turned and made his way through the now even more heavily packed pavilion.

Grover and Juniper had drifted off so it was just Travis and Katie at the hot chocolate. She glanced around and noticed couples starting to head to the dance floor. Travis apparently noticed it too because after a seconds pause he looked at her. After taking a deep breath he asked in a rush, "doyouwanttodancewithme?"

Katie smiled. "I'm sorry Travis, what was that?"

He frowned at her. "Do you wanna dance with me, Katie Gardiner?"

She smiled and slipped her hand in his. "I would love to."

So they made their way to the dance floor and for a while Katie forgot everything except the feel of Travis and the music surrounding them. She rested her head against his chest and closed her eyes, hearing his heartbeat.

They danced in a slow circle, ignoring the other couples currently on the dance floor. In fact, what broke them both out of their reverie was the arrival of Thalia Grace.

For the first half hour of the dance voices had mixed with the music playing. But now, suddenly, everything went silent.

And it was all because of the arrival of Thalia Grace.

Her hair was in it's usual spiky updo with her silver tiara resting on her head. She had no weapons and her usual eyeliner on, topped off with silvery eye shadow.

But what surprised everybody, apart from the fact that she had actually come, was what she was wearing.

For a Hunter of Artemis it seemed like Thalia didn't exactly get the no attention from boys thing. Actually, because of her... choice of clothing, it seemed like she was working extra hard to get guys to notice her.

She had on her usual black jacket, which helped. But it was unbuttoned and unzipped and revealed her skin tight black tank top that was extremely low cut. Much cleavage was apparent. Not to mention it was cut off just above her belly button in a jagged cut that looked like it had been done with safety scissors and no effort. Then she had on a black skirt that ended mid-thigh and black boots that gripped her calves tightly.

Thalia had always been pretty, Katie knew that. But right now it seemed like she was trying to upstage Drew with the sluttiest outfit of the night.

Katie stared at her, surprised. Thalia was ignoring all the stares she was attracting and then, after her eyes pinpointed on something- or someone- Thalia made a beeline to the shadows behind the Christmas Tree.

Everyone watched as she pulled Nico Di'Angelo from them. Dressed in a formal black shirt, dark jeans and dark sneakers, Nico was the definition of unapproachable. He looked lost and out of place, slightly shy and definitely brooding. To be honest Katie hadn't even noticed he was there.

Then, in front of everyone to see, Thalia dragged the boy straight to the middle of the dance floor and they started to dance.

Katie noticed that Thalia never left Nico's side once the entire night and he was the only boy- apart from Jason one time, and Percy much later once as well- that she danced with. Katie had known the cousins were close but she wasn't sure why Thalia would stick with Nico the entire night. Hunters were supposed to stay away from boys that could find them attractive. Actually they were supposed to stay away from boys period. So why was Artemis letting Thalia come here and dance with some? Jason, Katie could understand. He was her brother. Percy she could also understand because he was her cousin and in a completely faithful relationship with Annabeth. But Nico? How could Thalia know that Nico didn't like her as... more than a cousin?

She felt Travis's arms tighten around her ever so slightly and was snapped out of her thoughts at the movement.

"Thalia looks nice," Katie commented lightly, keeping her face strictly casual.

Travis glanced at the Hunter of Artemis for less than a second before gazing back down at her. "I guess. She could put something else on though, it is winter."

Katie's eyes widened as she stifled a laugh, but a snort escaped her. When she got back under control she scolded him. "Travis you barely even looked at her."

He shrugged and looked at her, blushing lightly when he spoke. "Katie, I'm dancing with the most gorgeous girl here. Why would I ever need to look at anybody else?"

The compliment warmed Katie right to her toes and she felt the blush come on her face. How could Travis say the most simple, corny things and still make Katie feel like the most loved person in the world. "You're such a charmer," she teased him but even she could hear the happiness in her voice.

His eyes twinkled and he shrugged as he twirled her. "Travis Stoll only speaks the truth."

This time Katie really did laugh. "Now that's a lie if I ever heard one."

Travis shrugged but looked at her so seriously Katie didn't doubt his following words for a second. "Not this time. You really do look amazing Katie Kat."

"Really?" Katie asked. "Because I'm so uncomfortable and these shoes are already killing my feet and I feel like I have 50 pounds of makeup caked onto my face."

And Travis, being the amazing boyfriend that he is, starting immediately laughing at her.

So Katie punched him. Thankfully that immediately shut him up and he grabbed his hurt shoulder. "Gods, Katie, what was that for?"

"For laughing at me you idiot! You're not making me feel any better, Stoll."

Travis was quiet a moment before he spoke. "Okay, I'll admit when I first saw you it looked a bit weird. While you look absolutely amazing it just didn't seem right, didn't seem like you."

Katie looked up at him, not quite able to mask her hurt at his words. "I am a girl, Travis, and girls wear this sort of stuff-"

Travis placed a hand over her mouth gently. His eyes were so soft and warm that Katie stopped trying to speak. "I know you're a girl Katie," he said tenderly. "But you're not like other girls. You'd rather get your hands dirty from gardening than paint them with nail polish, you like jeans and sweats instead of dresses and skirts. You almost never let your hair down because it would get in your face when you're planting. And Katie," here Travis gazed so deeply into her eyes Katie felt like he was looking at her very soul. "I love those things about you. I wouldn't have fallen in love with you if I didn't. So yes, it's nice to see you look like this once every blue moon and yeah, you're an absolute knock-out. But Katie, I'm in love with you for you. I don't need to fancy clothes and hair, or the makeup." Here Travis took a deep breath and Katie felt tears well in her eyes. "Katie, I just want _you_."

One tear escaped and Travis's eyes went wide and his mouth opened in surprise. "Katie- gods no, why are you crying? If I said something wrong- I only meant it as a compliment, I promise!"

A laugh escaped her, then another. Then Katie threw her arms around Travis and buried her head in the crook of his neck. "Travis Stoll you are the only man on this planet that I could ever be this in love with."

His arms went around her and pulled her tight against him. It was an intimate moment but perfectly appropriate. Katie clutched at Travis as if the thought of being any farther apart was unthinkable and he kept her against him like it would physically hurt him to let go.

Katie Gardiner and Travis Stoll were soul mates, no matter how much they might have denied it in the past. Polar opposites, the two were perfect for one another.

They rotated like that, slowly and steadily. After a while Travis turned his head to whisper in her ear. "Remember the day we met?"

Katie laughed and pulled away, wiping her eye. "Why would you bring that up? That was a terrible day."

Travis continued as if he hadn't heard her. "We were what, 11 years old? You came walking into camp with a huge smile on your face and I ran right up to you."

Katie smiled. "You were the first person to talk to me here, you know. And do you remember what you said?"

Travis grinned sheepishly. "I may have called you a gross girl, screamed to everyone in hearing range that you had cooties and threw a water balloon in your face before running away."

Katie sighed. "The beginning of a beautiful rivalry. But I was so hurt by that. That day was hard enough without adding you to the mix, but you tormented me endlessly."

Travis stared down at her before Katie smiled at him reassuringly. "Don't worry Travis, it's fine. I'm stronger than I look you know."

He rubbed the shoulder she had punched earlier. "Don't I know it," he muttered.

She smiled at him before another memory entered her head. "Remember our first kiss?"

Travis grinned. "After 6 years you still didn't know me at all."

"Well how was I supposed to know your favorite flavor of ice cream was Reese's?" Katie exclaimed. "Every other time we had eaten ice cream together you always got Cookie Dough!"

"I remember Connor and I snuck in ice cream to camp to celebrate the end of the war. We were all in Percy's cabin. And you came up to me, holding a bowl of cookie dough ice cream in one hand and mint chocolate chip in the other. You handed me the cookie dough and I was so surprised. I asked why you got me cookie dough and you said, as if I was the dumbest person in the world, that you got it for me because it was my favorite."

Katie laughed. A soft smile made it's way onto her face and it reached her eyes. "And you said so bluntly that no, it wasn't. You're favorite was Reese's. I asked why you always got cookie dough if Reese's was your favorite. And then," Katie continued, "I'll never forget what you said next. You looked at me so tenderly and you told me that you always got cookie dough ice cream because you knew it was _my_ favorite."

Travis smiled. "You looked so surprised and for a second I thought you were going to slap me. But what you did next was much, much better."

Katie blushed. "How was it? I dropped both bowls of ice cream on the floor of Percy's cabin and kissed you in front of all the counselors and older campers."

Travis smiled at her and moved the left stray curl of hair out of her eyes. "Like I said, much better."

Katie smiled at him. "So," she said, suddenly coy. "I saw some mistletoe in the corner over there..."

Travis winked and grabbed her hand. "Well what are we waiting for Kate kat?"

It may have been ten r fifteen minutes later when they emerged from the shadows again. Katie's lips were swollen and Travis's shirt was crumpled from where Katie had grabbed it. However long it was, they still got catcalls and shouts aimed at them when they went and sat down to drink some punch and eat some candy canes.

It must have been nearing 9:00 when Percy and Annabeth finally made an appearance. Katie wasn't sure what it was about those two but they drew everyone's attention when they stepped into the pavilion together and although they mingled and talked with others, Katie noticed Percy's hand never left Annabeth and Annabeth's eyes never left Percy.

They looked absolutely striking. Apart they were imposing but together... absolutely eye drawing. And the love that practically radiated off of them definitely helped draw the eye.

Annabeth wore a shimmering neck halter dress that ended in wisps below her knees. On her feet were elegant silver heels that resembled Katie's but also had diamond studs stuck on in places to make them sparkle. She wore a silver bracelet that Katie had never seen before. It was a charm bracelet that had, from what Katie could see, an owl, a trident and an anchor dangling from it. Annabeth's hair was curled and loose and Katie noticed emerald drop earrings on her ears.

Percy, with his arm around Annabeth's waist, was dashing. Lighter green shirt, black tie that brought out his hair, jeans and new looking sneakers, he drew the eyes of every girl in the pavilion. Even Nico, Katie noticed, was staring at him.

They waited for no one, doing their own thing. They made their way onto the dance floor, socialized with almost everybody and drank hot chocolate, ate candy and Christmas cookies, whispered to one another and laughed together.

They were so in love it made Katie feel happy just to see them together again. Since the war they hadn't been as happy (something Katie suspected had something to do with Tartarus) and Katie was glad to see that they could get past whatever had happened down there.

Katie and Travis joked and talked and kissed the entire night, never was there a dull or awkward moment. They were talking with Percy and Annabeth when the clock struck twelve.

Multiple voices sounded at once. "MERRY CHRISTMAS!"

Travis turned to Katie. "Merry Christmas, Katie Kat."

She smiled and threw her arms around him. "Merry Christmas, Stoll," she whispered before smashing her lips against his.

Travis was an amazing kisser. His lips were soft and sent electric through Katie's body. It felt like lava was traveling through her veins at him touch. She would never get tired of the feel of his lips against hers.

It was a sweet kiss, soft and gentle. Lasting not longer than a minute the two pulled away from one another to look into each others eyes and smile.

Katie turned to Annabeth to see her and Percy pull apart grinning. She squealed and threw her arms around the girl, hearing Percy and Travis do whatever it was guys did instead of hugging.

Then she hugged Percy and stepped back to stand beside Travis, glancing up to meet his eyes. They linked hands and for a moment everything was quiet.

Then the gifts appeared.

Hundreds and hundreds of gifts all wrapped differently. Different shapes and sizes, they all appeared either under the Christmas tree in the pavilion or in the hands of a demigod. After several moments of confusion Katie finally realized what had happened.

The gods had sent gifts, one to each of their children. Katie pulled Travis towards the tree and the made their way to the middle, where everyone was rummaging around looking for a gift with their name on it.

Travis finally pulled one out, yelling "Ah ha!" as he did so. He handed it to Katie and started looking again a moment later.

She held it, studying the wrapping and shape. It was a rectangular box, of that she was sure. The bottom was about as big as the palm of her hand and it was about as tall as two hands on top of one another. The actual wrapping paper was a soft yellow, one that made Katie think of wheat and corn. It made her feel comfortable.

Just as Katie looked up Travis grabbed another present and took her hand. She smiled at him in surprise and he smiled back.

"The gods did this," she said in wonder.

He nodded. "I know. It's kind of surprising, right?"

She laughed and jerked her head to the side, signaling they should get out of here. Away from the rest of the crowd.

He nodded and led the way. Surprising her he took her completely out of the pavilion, despite her protests. "Travis," she whined, "we'll miss the rest of the party."

He grinned at her. "Why would you want to go back there when you can have all this?" He asked her, then suddenly started waving his arms around and shaking his butt, obviously trying to dance.

She laughed. "Oh, this is so much better."

Travis grinned and kissed her cheek, his breath misting before her very eyes. "Told you Katie."

She grinned at him and he sat her down on a log. They were at the campfire, shaded by trees. That helped keep the wind away and Katie felt something wet hit her nose.

She looked up and smiled in surprise. "Snow," she said reverently.

Travis grinned. "The trees will protect us."

Katie grinned and stuck out her tongue, the present in her hand momentarily forgotten. She caught a snowflake and grinned at Travis, excited as a little kid on Christmas.

"Katie," Travis whined. "I wanna open my present now."

He pouted at her and Katie laughed, returning her attention to the parcel he held in his hands. It wasn't a box and it was small. When Katie felt it she felt something like a chain and pendant.

She stifled a giggle. Had Hermes gotten his son a necklace?

"Go on," she encouraged. "Open it."

He looked at her hesitantly for a moment before grinning and ripping into the blue paper.

When he took out the gift Katie smiled.

It was a necklace, but better than she had imagined. It was a metal chain, just like lot's of boys would wear, and it was long enough to hide down his shirt if he wanted. Dangling from the middle of it was a shoe with wings sprouting from the sides, all metal.

It was nice, actually. Katie really liked it. And as Travis put it on she saw something change in his eyes.

"My turn," she said and suddenly excitement filled her. Her mother had never gotten her a gift before. What would it be?

She carefully unwrapped the box and opened it up. What she saw made her heart fill with wonder and joy.

"Katie," Travis asked when she did nothing more than stare. "What is it?"

She carefully pulled the plotted plant out of the box and showed her boyfriend. "Moonlace." She replied.

He frowned. "Is that your favourite flower or something?"

Katie shook her head, hair falling in front of her face. She couldn't look away from the plant that was glowing softly in the night. "It's a plant known only to Calypso," she explained.

"That titan that comes to visit Leo a lot?" Travis asked.

She nodded. "Calypso was alone on an island called Ogygia. That was the only place this plant grew. She was the only person who ever had any. Until right now."

She touched a leaf in wonder before meeting Travis's eyes. "I love it."

He smiled but his eyes still looked confused. "Then I'm glad."

She smiled and stood up. "C'mon, my feet are killing me, this makeup will probably take an hour to get off and it's probably almost one. We should get back."

Travis nodded and grabbed the wrapping paper he had discarded ever so thoughtlessly on the ground. They walked hand in hand back to the cabins to see people leaving the pavilion. Time flies for ADHD demigods.

Travis walked her to the Demeter cabin before stopping just outside the door.

"If we were anywhere else I would invite you in..." Katie trailed off grinning sheepishly.

Travis smiled. "It's okay Katie kat. This'll do."

Without waiting for her to say anything he stepped forward and kissed her soundly on the mouth. It started innocent but then Travis's tongue somehow touched Katie's bottom lip and it became not so innocent. They kissed for a few minutes, or hours or days. When they finally pulled apart they were breathing heavily and Katie felt her legs go weak.

She fumbled behind her for the doorknob with her free hand and finally found it.

"Night Travis," she said breathily.

"Night Katie." He replied.

She lunged forward, pressing her lips to his again in a sudden hunger. It lasted only a second before she stepped back and opened the door.

"See you in the morning," she said, blushing, before quickly stepping into her cabin and closing the door behind her.

She turned and leaned back against it, hearing him mutter something before walking away. She sighed, closing her eyes and cradling the moonlace in her arms, before slowly moving down to sit on the floor.

It was minutes later when there was a knock on the cabin door and Katie jumped up. She opened the door, smiling at her cabin mates, before moving aside to let them come in.

Judging by the looks on their faces they had had a good night as well.

oooOOOooo

**Hope you liked it! Reviews are much appreciated! Maybe I could get to 10 for this chapter?**

**Love you all!**

**Percyjacksonfan3**


	3. Thalia and Nico

**Disclaimer: I don't own!**

oooOOOooo

Thalia stared into the mirror of the Zeus cabin with something like worry in her eyes.

Usually she wouldn't do this. She was a hunter or Artemis, a self-conscious girl, and very, very protective of her own body. Usually this would be something for Drew to do, something that Thalia would scorn and turn away from.

But here she was, Christmas Eve, standing in her cabin with her hands on her hips and staring into a mirror.

Jason was gone, presumably already at the dance with Piper. She had the cabin alone- therefore she had nobody to help talk her out of this crazy decision.

She had begged Artemis for days to let her come to this. Ever since she heard about the dance she had asked, pleaded, blackmailed and tried to convince the goddess, all to no avail. After a week the goddess had turned around, finally angry at her lieutenant, and demanded why. Why was it so important to go to a dance when Thalia was sworn off boys? What reason could she possibly have that made this so special?

And Thalia had answered with one name.

Nico.

Thankfully Artemis had understood. The goddess's eyes had widened slightly in surprise and realization and a smile had split her face. The other hunters had looked at each other, all confused, but Thalia hadn't explained. She didn't really want to.

Nico was gay. Thalia had only learned it when the Giant War had been over and done with and Jason had come to her, asking questions and obviously hiding something. She had gotten it out of her little brother within the hour.

Nico was gay and in love with Percy. He was planning on leaving Camp when the war was finished and setting off alone. Jason wanted to stop him, to help him. Thalia decided that she would do the same.

Nico was like another little brother to Thalia. Closer than cousins, Thalia knew she could convince Nico to stay. That he wasn't everything he thought he was. But tonight, to help him, she would do this.

Thalia made sure she looked like a girl all of the guys would want to be with tonight. Wearing little to no clothing, heavy makeup and forcing confidence, Thalia was one hot hunter.

She had rules for tonight. She could not talk to any boys except Nico, Jason and possibly Percy. She was to stay with Nico for most of the night and the moment it turned one she was to start making her way back to the Artemis cabin where the rest of the hunters were staying temporarily for Christmas. None of them except Thalia were going to this dance.

She was already late. The entire day she had been debating whether or not to do this, feeling her willpower crumble. But at the thought of Nico her resolve hardened and she carefully placed her tiara on top of her head. Just to remind the rest of the boys out there that she was a hunter. Off limits. No touchy touch or grabbing. If they tried anything Thalia had every right to pull out dagger hidden in her boot (a girl could never be too careful) and stab them in the toe.

With one last sigh she made her way from the cabin and towards the dining pavilion.

It had started to snow, she saw and she stopped a second to stare up at the sky. Dark as stygian iron with stars twinkling throughout, Thalia was sure she had never seen anything so calm and serene. To some people the ocean may look beautiful and calming but to Thalia it was the sky. It was ever present, always there. Nothing could take the sky away, and even though Thalia hated being in it she loved looking at it.

Snow fell into her hair and she wondered if it made her look even more of a girl. Hopefully. Whatever helped.

The music was blasting, Thalia heard it from the Ares cabin. Right now some country song was playing. The one Katie had been obsessing about for weeks, by a guy named Hunter Hayes. Wanted, Thalia remembered. That was it.

She listened for a bit before frowning. Why would people play such a depressing song at a Christmas Party? Really, the Apollo kids could do better. Green Day, Fallout Boy, Skrillex... anything but these sappy songs.

Finally, blocking out the voices around her and the music to the best of her ability, Thalia entered the dining pavilion.

She had expected the stares, the hanging jaws. She saw a guy spit out his punch onto the girl standing beside him and even saw someone drop a candy cane. She looked around at the stunned faces and ignored every single one.

As she stood atop the steps leading into the pavilion, Thalia felt confidence fill her. She wasn't scared of anything in this room, she looked good and no matter what happened tonight it didn't change anything. Why had she been nervous? Everything would be fine. She could defeat most of these demigods in single battle without breaking a sweat.

She spotted Leo, wide his mouth wide open. And there were Jason and Piper standing hand in hand beside the hot chocolate and Thalia almost laughed at the shocked expressions of their faces. She winked at them qiuckly before going back to surveying the room. Where was Nico? He had to be here, there was no way she had done all of this for nothing.

If I was a creepy, emo kid alone at a Christmas dance where would I be?

Then Thalia saw him. There was a head of black hair hiding behind the enormous Christmas Tree taking up the middle of a wall. Of course, Thalia thought to herself, he would hide in the shadows where no one would see him if they weren't looking.

She practically strut over to the tree where Nico was. He hadn't noticed her, she saw, instead he was busy staring at his shoes.

She sighed loudly. Why was it up to her to do absolutely everything? Annabeth didn't have the guts to tell Percy she liked him? Thalia convinced her. Percy didn't know what to get Annabeth for her birthday? Thalia helped him. Nico couldn't dance at a party? Thalia helped him.

Really, they would all be completely lost without her she thought.

"So were you planning on hiding out here all night? Or will you come and dance with your cousin?" Thalia spoke loudly over the music and she grinned when Nico jumped and looked up, his hand shooting to where his sword hilt would usually be.

He looked good tonight, Thalia thought. Because he wore black so much people forgot how well the colour suited him, but Nico looked really good. Of course Thalias wasn't attracted to him or anything- no boys, remember?- but she was sure there would be many girls looking at him tonight.

And hopefully some guys.

She shook the thought out of her head and went back to studying him. Black shirt, dark jeans, black shoes and a black tie... well you couldn't say the boy wasn't consistent.

UnsurprisinglyThalia felt nothing at the sight of him. No new emotions rose to the surface, she wasn't curious or revulsed. She wasn't scared to be around him and wasn't more comfortable with him. He was still just Nico, the boy who had grown up too fast. The cousin Thalia loved and would die for. Being gay didn't change Nico.

She, to put it simply, really didn't care.

Not to sound heartless. She did care about Nico and who he was. But him being gay? She didn't dwell on it, or overanalyze everything he'd done in the past. It didn't change her memories with him or how she felt. Nico being gay was just like Nico being shy. It was another thing that made him who he was, a characterisitc. Nothing more.

She met his eyes and saw that they were wide as he quickly glanced at what she was wearing. He went pale and looked at her as if she were an alien from some unknown planet.

She put a hand on her hip. "C'mon Nico, I'm not that scary am I?"

He shook his head, stuttering something along the lines of "N-n-n-no."

She laughed and took one of his hands, dragging him out of the shadows and onto the dance floor. When Nico realized what she was doing he froze and dug in his heels.

"Thalia," he whined, previous moment forgotten, "I'm not dancing."

"Really Nico," she said exasperated. "Why would you come to a dance if you didn't plan on dancing?"

He hesitated before shrugging, something flickering in his eyes before it disappeared. "I dunno. But there's no way I'm going to dance."

"Why not?" Thalia asked him.

He looked around at all the people staring and seemed to shrink. He pulled his hand away. "Look Thals, I just-"

"You know what Nico?" Thalia said. "I don't want to hear it. You're going to dance with me tonight, probably all night, and you're going to like it. Any questions?"

Nico stared, mouth slightly open before shaking his head, mouth twitching in an almost smile. "Fine. Alright."

The huntress nodded. "Good." She said, before grabbing his wrist and dragging him behind her

They were hesitant and shy in the placement of their hands. Thalia had only ever danced with a boy twice. Once was Grover on the mission to recue Bianca and Nico, another was... well there had been one other time. While she had been on the run. But that memory was too painful so Thalia let it slip away.

Nico was blushing and Thalia was sure she had a comical expression on her face. Their hands fumbled for a bit before they let them stay in one place and finally they were face to face.

When had Nico gotten so tall? Thalia wondered as she stared into his eyes. They were nose-to-nose now. Had she really missed so much of the last year? Been absent so much?

It was true, she realized. This year she had spoken to Nico only a handful of times, Percy only slightly more. Not to mention when he had been abducted Thalia had been the last to find out of his friends. She had only spent a couple of days with Annabeth when she heard the news before having to leave again. Her friends were growing up around her, Thalia thought sadly, and she wasn't even there for most of it anymore. And now that Jason was back she was spending more and more time with him than the rest.

She closed her eyes. And Luke, she remembered. She had missed so much of his life that he had turned evil. Gods, how had that happened?

Again she pushed the thoughts away. She and Nico got past the awkwardness and just danced quietly. Finally, and surprisingly, it was him who broke the silence.

"Bianca and I used to dance together," he said. There was a sad, haunted look in his eyes and Thalia felt the sudden unfamiliar feeling of just wanting to hug him. She resisted, but she did squeeze his shoulder.

"Really?" She asked. It didn't surprise her much, not really. Bianca seemed like that type of girl.

Nico nodded, a sad smile making it's way onto his face. "She loved boy bands. But not the new ones, older ones, like the Beatles. There was this one song by them, Let It Be, that she would just listen to over and over. In the Lotus Hotel and Casino she would play it on an old fashioned stereo and slam her hand down on my Mythomagic cards. She would take my hands and pull me up from the couch and just twirl me around and around and around..." He trailed off, staring somewhere over Thalia's shoulder.

Thalia smiled sadly back at him. "She loved you, Nico. She loved you so much."

His eyes hardened. "She left me, Thalia, and then she got killed because of it." She opened her mouth to deny it but Nico cut her off. "She left."

"Stop that," Thalia told him sternly. "She loved you and you know it. She left to live her life and you know what Nico? She was happy. I bet if she could do it over she would and she would only change one thing."

"Oh yeah?" Nico said bitterly and Thalia ignored the slight sheen in his eyes. "What's that, Thalia?"

"She would want to say goodbye to her little brother, a real goodbye. She would want to tell him how proud she is of him, and how she loves him and how much his friends and family love him. She would want to tell him all of those things so that we wouldn't have to."

Nico stood still and Thalia thought it was because of what she had said for a few seconds. But then she noticed him staring somewhere over her shoulder and when she turned around she saw exactly what it was.

Percy and Annabeth had arrived.

Thalia turned back to Nico, watching as his eyes widened and then shrunk. His hand dropped from around her waist and the one holding her own fell to his side. He stood, staring like a man enraptured by the sun, and all Thalia could do was watch.

"Nico-" she started to say but was cut off by someone behind her.

"Thals!" Annabeth squeeled and suddenly the hunter was being turned around and squeezed to death by the daughter of Athena in front of her. She faintly heard the sound of Percy greeting Nico and turned her head just in time to see Nico's eyes close in the brief embrace between the two boys. When they pulled away from one another there was such pain in the son of Hades eyes that Thalia immediately moved away from Annabeth to go and stand beside him.

Percy smiled at her. "Hey there, Pinecone Face. Do you think Artemis will turn me into a deer if I hug you?"

Thalia forced a smile before squeezing Nico's hand in silent sympathy. "It's your risk Kelp Head. I'll be fine either way."

Percy gave her a fake wounded look before she opened her arms and hugged him. Quickly she pulled away and stepped back to finally take in the couple.

Annabeth looked beautiful. Her hair was down, her dress fit her frame perfectly and the color brought out the tones of her skin and hair. Percy was handsome in his shirt and jeans and Thalia was surprised to see him in a tie.

Annabeth must have forced him into it, Thalia thought as she gave the blonde a look of surprise and jerked her head towards the accesory. Annabeth followed with her eyes and smiled, stifling a laugh. She pointed to herself and nodded from behind Percy and Thalia shook her head but smiled nonetheless.

"So," Percy said and took Annabeth's hand as if subconsciously. "Where's the candy?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Really, Seaweed Brain, the last thing you need is candy."

Percy gave her a fake look of wounded shock. "But I love candy."

Annabeth laughed and stared into his eyes affectionately a few seconds too long.

Thalia glanced at Nico and saw he was staring at the couple as if they were his own personal form of Tartarus.

She mimed puking up, before standing straight to knock them out of whatever silent conversation they were having. They always did that and Thalia only noticed now just how hard it must have been for Nico to be around them all these years.

"Excuse me while I go throw up some more," Thalia said. "But if you guys wanna keep acting like newlyweds then go ahead, Nico and I can leave."

Percy laughed, not noticing anything amiss, but Annabeth frowned at Thalia slightly. Before she could say anything though, Percy beat her to it. "It's not our fault you swore off boys, Thals, look at what you're missing," Percy said, gesturing to every guy in the room.

Thalia feigned interest, scanning the crowd quickly, before raising an eyebrow. "You just proved my point."

Percy smiled at her easily and Annabeth laughed. Nico just stood quietly from beside Thalia, something that Percy apparently noticed.

"So Nico, are you staying here for a while?" He asked, suddenly serious.

Percy didn't notice the flinch from Nico but Thalia did, and so, she suspected from the confusion on her face, did Annabeth.

Nico hadn't told Percy he was planning on leaving after tonight? Thalia wondered. What was he going to do, just get up and go without a word?

She sighed again but nobody noticed. All eyes were on Nico.

"Actually-," he started but he didn't get to finish before Piper's voice interrupted.

"Hey guys!" She said. "Are you having fun?"

Jason came into their circle slightly behind his girlfriend and Thalia saw worry in his eyes as he glanced at Nico who was again looking like he was a deer caught in headlights. He glanced at Thalia, asking a silent question, and she just shrugged.

"Well Annabeth and I just got here," Percy said. "But it seems really cool. Definitely better than my school dances."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him. "You never told me you had school dances."

Percy nodded. "Yeah usually about three a year."

"Oh really," Annabeth said. "Were there girls there?"

Percy met her eyes. "Wise Girl, it's a school dance." He said slowly. "Of course there were girls there."

"Hmm..." Annabeth said. "So did you dance with any of them?"

Percy looked at Jason, his eyes screaming 'help', but Thalia's brother just smirked and held up his hands as if in surrender. "I can't help you, Perce."

Annabeth met Thalia's eyes and quickly winked before Percy looked back to her. "I don't dance." He said stupidly.

Annabeth crossed her arms. "You sure? Cause you're sounding pretty guilty."

Now Percy's eyes widened. "Seriously Annabeth, me and a bunch of guys would always just hang out in a corner shooting hoops or something."

One second...two seconds...three seconds silence and then Piper, Jason, Thalia and Annabeth all burst out laughing at once.

"Your face," Jason gasped out, "you should have seen your face!"

"Good one Anabeth," Piper said breathily, "oh gods, I'm crying!"

Thalia calmed down and suddenly noticed Nico standing quiet and looking alone. She stopped laughing altogether and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, guys, Nico and I are gonna go get some hot chocolate," she said. "We'll find you later and little brother, you are not escaping here tonight without giving me a dance."

Jason's eyes shot to Nico before he covered it up by smiling and nodding. "Sure."

Percy looked away from Annabeth long enough to shout, "I get a dance too, Pinecone Face!"

Thalia rolled her eyes, backing away and dragging Nico with her. "Whatever you say, Kelp Head!"

Then, without another glance, she turned around and pulled Nico away from their group of friends. Ignoring the stares from the crowd and the frozenness of her cousin, Thalia dragged him away and out of the pavilion.

When they reached the outer cabins she stopped. They were beside the wall of the Hecate Cabin and Thalia was surprised to see that Nico wasn't looking confused or suspicious.

He just looked sad.

"Nico," she touched his shoulder hesitantly, unsure how he would react to her next words. "Are you okay?"

"Wha-," he started to say but something in Thalia's eyes must have stopped him. "Jason told you," Nico said after a few seconds and Thalia was scared at how emotionless he sounded.

"Well," she said to cover up her feelings, "I may have made him. You know how convincing I can be," she said wiggling her fingers and trying to lighten the sudden tension.

His lips didn't even twitch. Instead he stared at her, wary and scared.

That's what got to Thalia more than anything. Nico, son of Hades and one of the most powerful demigods on the planet, was scared of people finding out he liked guys.

Anger rised in her and suddenly she was shaking her head. "Nico, I don't care."

He laughed, full of disbelief and scorn. Self-loathing and helplessness. But maybe a bit of hope too. "You don't care?" He said finally. "Of course you care. It's not just a little thing, Thalia, it changes who I am. Don't you see that?"

"No," she replied. "No, Nico, I don't. You're the same person you were yesterday, or a month ago. The same guy you were when Bianca was with you. This doesn't change anything and yes, I don't care."

He stared at her. "You don't understand. Jason must not have told you-"

"He told me everything," Thalia cut him off. "I know you're gay, I know you hate yourself for it. I know you plan on leaving after tonight and I know that you're in love with Percy."

Nico's face turned ashen, even more pale than before. "I- I don't-"

"Nico," Thalia said gently. "You don't have to lie to me."

Black eyes pierced blue and Thalia could swear she saw something break in the boy before her. "I-," his voice cracked and he took a deep breath. "Thalia, he can't know. You can't tell him."

"Nico," she started to protest but he cut her off, pleading.

"Please, Thalia." He said. "Anyone else I could handle, they all think I'm weird anyway, but not him."

"You're a brother to him, Nico," Thalia said. "He wouldn't just give up on you. You guys would work through it."

He closed his eyes and took another breath. "Please," he whispered, and Thalia couldn't help but give in.

"Of course, Nico." She said, watching him. "Are you going to be okay?"

He shrugged. "When I leave-"

"Hey," she interrupted. "You can't go."

Something flashed in his eyes, "Why?"

"Well, because." She said. "We need you here, Nico, we would miss you."

He snorted half heartedly. "Nobody needs me, Thalia."

"Nico," she said. "Of course we do. Do you think I could stand to live without my little cousin? Hazel without her brother? Percy without his brother?"

Nico flinched. "I don't fit in at the Camps. Either of them."

"That's pegasus poop and you know it. Hazel felt the same way. So did Frank and Leo. We've all felt like that at the start. How long have you stayed at one camp in one time?"

He thought about it, frowning. "A week?"

"Really?"

"What?" He asked defensively.

Thalia feigned nonchalance. "Nothing. Just that's not a long time. I know that I started to feel like I fit in here around the 3 week mark. The rest of the campers were probably the same."

Nico's willpower was wavering, Thalia could see it. The hope in his eyes was creeping up. "The others don't like me, Thalia."

She raised an eyebrow. "And do you think they liked me? People picked on Percy for the first year he was here, you know that. Annabeth was the youngest for years, do you think any of the older kids wanted to hang out with her? Piper was an oddball in her own cabin. Jason was a Roman here for six months." She paused. "We're all different, Nico, don't go around thinking you're special." She grinned at him, teasing. "Cause you're not. You're just as weird as the rest of us."

This time the smallest smile possible appeared on his lips before it dissapeared as quickly as it had come. "What am I going to do, Thalia?" He asked defeatedly. "I can't stay. I can't just stay here and watch Annabeth and him... I just can't."

Thalia placed her hands on his shoulders. "That's why you need to talk to him, Nico. Don't let Percy stop you from being happy and living your life how you want to live it. You want to stay? Stay. Just because he's here doesn't mean you can't be. Besides," Thalia smiled. "Whatever happens in there you will always have me."

He still looked miserable and confused and after moments of silence Thalia sighed.

"But if I'm not enough...well. I don't know, Nico, but you can't just give up. I will not let you just leave and try and erase yourself from our lives. All of us love you. Hazel, Annabeth, me, even Leo, Jason and Piper. And Nico," she said, placing a hand under his chin to force him to meet her eyes. "Percy does too. Even if it's not in the way you would want, he does. You mean so much to him and you'll never get through... whatever it is you guys are doing right now, if you don't go and talk to him about it."

His eyes met hers and Thalia tried to control her face, to hide her shock at the sheen in his. "Stay with me tonight," he asked her. "Please. I will talk to him, I promise, but right now..." He took in a shuddering breath. "Please don't leave me alone."

"Oh, Nico," Thalia sighed as she pulled him in for a hug. "Never."

She wasn't sure how long they stood there in the falling snow with her holding him, but by the time Nico got himself together and pulled away his hair was full of melting snowflakes. Thalia smiled affectionately and tousled them out.

"You ready to go back?" She asked him and both of them knew she wasn't just asking about going back to the dance.

He looked at the pavilion, at everybody in there laughing and dancing and being a family, for a minute or so. Finally though, he nodded. "Ready when you are."

She laid an arm over his shoulders and he wrapped one around her waist as they turned towards the way they'd come. Thalia saw the looks, heard the whispers and could practically feel the dissaproval coming from most of the people in the pavilion.

But she didn't care. And as she saw Nico straighten his back and stare boldy back at everyone, she knew that he didn't either.

She smiled at everyone who shot her a dirty look, stuck her tongue out at Drew who was whispering into Chase Andrew from Apollo cabin's ear and giving her a look of absolute loathing. She waved to the people she liked, ignored the people she didn't and never, ever took herself more than 5 feet away from Nico the entire night.

She danced with Jason, which was slightly awkward but fun. She talked to Piper who was blushing and giggling at any mention of her boyfriend. Nico talked to Leo and Jason and Thalia saw him laugh once or twice.

When Percy finally came to ask her to dance she couldn't help but look at the son of Hades first. He was watching them, she saw, and his eyes were dark as pitch when they met hers. But he nodded slightly in answer to her silent question and Thalia looked away back into the green eyes before her.

She took the offered hand and smiled. "Of course, Kelp Head, I'm surprised it took you this long to ask."

He laughed and led her onto the dance floor where they were given much more looks than Thalia had recieved all night. Percy, as always, seemed oblivious to it all and Thalia resisted the urge to roll her eyes. He really didn't notice how people treated him. He was practically a celebrity here after the two wars and Tartarus and yet he was still the same old goofy Percy as he had always been.

She smiled softly to herself. It was kind of nice.

"So," Percy said after they had started dancing slowly, "what have you been up to Thals? Shooting any boys with those arrows of yours?"

She grinned at him wickedly. "A huntress never shoots and tells."

She got a smile back and suddenly Percy was the same old guy he had always been. She forgot about his drama with Nico, forgot about him being annoylingly cute with Annabeth. She forgot everything except her cousin who had been by her side since she had woke up on Half-Blood Hill all those years ago.

They laughed and razzed and talked and Thalia loved the easiness with which they became Thalia and Percy again, the cousins who would always insult one another but had a bond stronger than any siblings.

That was, until Percy asked about Nico.

"Nico?" Thalia asked him in surprise. "What about him?"

Percy shrugged and scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Well he's been... distant lately. It started after I got back out of Tartarus, after he pretended he didn't know me at Camp Jupiter."

Thalia sighed internally. It started a lot sooner than that, Perce, she thought. You were just too wrapped up in Annabeth to notice.

"Nico's been okay," she said truthfully. "But he's been going through some stuff Perce, and he really needs us to be there for him." She paused, debating whether or not she would regret this later.

What the Hades, she supposed. "I think you should try to talk to him soon. See where he's at right now. I know he's missed having his cousin around. Both of them."

"Yeah," Percy said. "You're right. Maybe tomorrow I'll go see him and we can hang out, just the two of us. Like old times. And maybe," he said meeting her eyes, "our other cousin won't go off and not speak to us for months again like she did after the Titan War."

"I'm working on it," she said, but internally she cringed. Percy said it jokingly but it was true. She had been there when they needed her but she had left as soon as she could. Artemis needed her, Luke had just died and Thalia was slowly coming to terms with the fact that the people around her she loved would die. Lately she had been trying to let them go but with Jason coming back and everything happening with Nico and Annabeth and Percy... she was wondering whether her leaving them alone would be the best thing. Maybe she was just trying to spare herself the future pain that would come when they eventually did leave her.

She shook her head just as the song ended. "I better get back to Nico," she said. "We're kind of the talk of the night and I wouldn't want anyone to miss out on seeing us together."

Percy nodded. "Yeah of course. And Thals?"

She turned back around, composing her face and holding back those stupid tears that were slowly forming in her eyes. "Hmm?"

"Care to explain the choice of outfit?" Percy asked. "As your cousin I hardly approve."

She smiled at him. "Well you know me, always the rebel."

He met her eyes for a bit before finally nodding. "Alright."

She nodded before hurriedly turning back around and heading towards Nico. Just as she reached him she started to speak. "Look Nico, I hate to cut your night short but do you want to get out of her-?"

She was interrupted, however, by the countdown of the people inside.

"10 seconds 'till Christmas, people! 10 seconds!" Someone shouted out and suddenly all around them voices were joining together.

"10!"

"What did you say, Thals?" Nico yelled at her.

"9!"

"I was just asking-"

"8!"

"What?" He yelled back and his eyes looked so concerned that Thalia couldn't help it. A tear fell.

"7!"

Nico grabbed her hand. "Thalia?"

"6!"

"I'm sorry your in love with him Nico." She said. "I'm sorry you're in love with someone who will never love you back."

"5!"

His face looked like she had just struck him.

"4!"

"It's better than being in love with someone who's dead, right Thalia?"

"3!"

Now she was the one who felt as if she had been hit.

"2!"

"Merry Christmas, Nico."

"1!"

"Merry Christmas, Thalia."

"MERRY CHRISTMAS!" The words were shouted and all Thalia saw was Nico, turning away to look at the crowd.

She didn't have to look to see that he was watching Percy and Annabeth. When she glanced at the couple she saw they were kissing, of course, and when she looked at Nico she grabbed his hand and squeezed. "You're still gonna stay, right?"

He couldn't seem to look away from the couple. Thankfully nobody else noticed because they were too busy sharing their own kiss, gasping at something that had just appeared at the christmas tree or laughing with friends.

"I'll try." He said. "But if I can't... then I can't. I'm leaving, Thalia, for good."

She nodded, looking out at the crowd. "Where would you go?"

His answer silenced her. "Anywhere but here."

And that was that.

Eventually they found out about the gifts at the tree. Thalia was given a silver charm in the shape of a lightning bolt, presumably to hang on Aegis her bracelet. What really shocked her was Nico's present.

They looked for what must have been 10 minutes and didn't find one. Eventually Thalia looked up at Nico, about to say something, anything, to make him feel better. But he spoke first.

"It makes sense, really. My dad didn't really care about me anyways. He liked Bianca more. And what would he get his gay son?" He stared at the tree, resolutely not meeting her eyes. "It makes sense really."

"No," she shook her head. "No, he did send one. Because he loves you. We just haven't found it yet, we need to look harder, to check every place."

"There's no point," Nico said defeatedly. "You won't find one."

She was about to reply when she spotted something. A rectangular package, sticking out from the back of the tree, wrapped in pitch black paper.

If that didn't scream Hades, Thalia wasn't sure what did.

"Wait," she said as she reached around the back of the tree and snagged it. "Open this one."

His name was on a tag that had been stuck to the wrapping paper and Thalia saw Nico look up at her in happy surprise.

She had never seen Nico look more like a kid than in that moment.

He ripped into the paper, tossing it behind him. And when all of it was gone he nearly dropped the present in his hands.

When Thalia moved around behind him to see she was surprised to see a black and white picture in a picture frame. It was a family portrait and in it was four people. One was Hades, oily and actually smiling. He was staring up at a little boy on his shoulders who was undoubtedly Nico. He must have been months or maybe a year old. Beside them was a woman who was exceptionally beautiful with dark hair and a smiling, open face. She was staring into the camera lense and in her arms was a girl, about 2 or 3 who was poking her brother. Bianca.

"My family," Nico whispered, and despite everyone else around them, Thalia heard him crystal clear.

She looked down and noticed a slip of paper amidst the black wrappings. When she picked it up she read it and looked at her cousin, handing it to him she said, "I think this goes with it."

There was only two sentences and a letter, but when Nico read it his whole demeanor changed. Something in his eyes was replaced by something lighter, happier, and Thalia swore his hands shook.

'Merry Chirstmas, Nico.' The card read. 'I'm so proud of you, son.'

It was signed -H, with nothing else on it.

Thalia saw Nico blink rapidly a few times and heard him sniff. "Persephone," he said. "Probably told him to write it. He-"

"Means everything he wrote on that card and everything he couldn't say when he gave you tha picture," Thalia interuppted him.

He looked up at her, hands clutching both presents falling to his sides. "Thalia-"

"Now will you stay?" She asked. "Here, where you belong. With the people who love you?"

He glanced back down at the words on the paper and the picture before nodding.

"I'll stay."

And that was that.

oooOOOooo

**Hope you guys liked this one. It took me a while and I didn't really know where I was going with it until the end. Too sad? Too OOC? Too random and depressing? Feedback is appreciated!**

**MERRY LATE CHRISTMAS! HAPPY EARLY NEW YEARS! Review and tell me what your favourite present was, how you day was... anything! I wanna hear it all!**

**My Christmas was fantastic! Despite the family drama I had such a great day! My favourite present? Either a sweater I got or a charm bracelet. **

**You guys exceeded last chapters expectations. 18 reviews when I was only looking for 10. You make my life. You really do.**

**Now I was planning on saving Percebeth's chapter until last for this story. But a lot of you want it next. So it's your choice. Keep yourself in anticipation or get it soon. Review and tell me what you want!**

**Love you all!**

**Percyjacksonfan3**


	4. Annabeth and Percy (Annabeth)

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything.**

oooOOOooo

Annabeth used to hate Christmas. When it came around every year it was just another excuse for her father and step-mother to ignore her, under appreciate her and dote on her little brothers. It had been one of the holidays Annabeth had felt like an outside her in her own family.

When she ran away and found Camp Half-Blood, Christmas was different. The campers were happy and there was decorations, but there was no presents unless you bought them yourselves and arranged to exchange with other people. For a while Christmas was just another day of the year with the added bonus of no chores and you could do pretty much anything you wanted for the day.

When Percy had come to Camp it had gradually started to change. Annabeth had spent the day with him and his family 2 years ago (as a friend, of course, they weren't dating then) and they had gotten each other presents. Sally had made a great meal of turkey, potatoes and vegetables and the decorations had been simple yet perfect.

It had been the best Christmas of her life.

Last Christmas... last Christmas had been the worst. Percy had disappeared right before Christmas and to be honest all Annabeth remembered of that day was her secluding herself and avoiding other people.

Yup, that had been a rough one.

Now this year Camp Half-Blood was having a dance. It was random and took everyone off guard but Annabeth kind of liked it that way. It made it more special. And this time she wasn't going to let Percy out of her sights for the entire day. He would be here for when the clock struck 12 and it turned from Christmas Eve to Christmas Day. He would be there for Annabeth to find in the breakfast pavilion in the morning and he wouldn't let go of her hand the entire day. He would be there to open her present and laugh at her and blush when he saw what it was.

He would be there. She wouldn't be able to stand it if he wasn't.

Right now she was in his cabin with him, getting ready for the dance.

Her makeup was good, her hair was as perfect as it was ever going to be and her jewlery was simple and yet elegant. And her dress... well it was the only one in the Aphrodite Cabin she had actually liked. The rest were either too revealing, the wrong color, wrong size, itchy fabric or just plain ugly. When she had pulled it off the rack to show Piper the daughter of Aphrodite had frowned, saying she didn't remember seeing that particular dress before. But it was absolutely perfect for Annabeth and the girl had insisted that after she wore it tonight to just keep it. Nobody would notice a missing dress from here and it really was amazing on her.

Annabeth had smiled and thanked her. Piper was one of her closest friends at Camp and Annabeth couldn't help but feel overwhelming gratitude towards the girl for helping her. Jewlery, shoes, hair and even makeup she could handle by herself. But when it came to fashion the only thing Annabeth knew was that she liked simple. A camp tank top and shorts with her sneakers. That was her general outfit.

Somehow she didn't think that would be appropriate for tonight.

So she had gone to Piper and found this amazing green shimmery neck halter dress. It was fitted at the top with some shining fake diamonds woven throughout the cloth and at her waist it became silky wisps that ended just below her knees. It wasn't poofy, or big, it was fitted and shape hugging. Her shoes were silver heels that were strappy but had diamond studs on them in occasional places so they would sparkle. On her ears were emerald drop earrings and her hair was loose and curled. Not her natural wild curls, but actual curls from a curling iron.

She heard a knock on the door. "Annabeth? Are you planning on living in my bathroom or are you coming out soon?" Percy asked her sarcastically.

"Hold on," she called back. "Just a minute!"

She studied her reflection in the mirror one last time. Everything actually looked good and for once Annabeth felt like she was beautiful.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, full smile on her face, Percy's expression confirmed it.

His jaw dropped and he tried to immediately stand up from his position on sitting on his bunk. He jerked up so fast that he hit his head on the bunk above his and for the next minute the cabin was filled with Annabeth's laughter and his embarassed cursing.

When she moved to sit down beside him she took in his appearance and couldn't help the flutter of nervousness in her stomach.

He looked good. Really good.

He had on a light green shirt and black tie on, along with jeans and new sneakers. His hair was still unruly but now it looked deliberate and it matched the rest of his appearance perfectly. The tie brought out his black hair and his shirt brought out his eyes.

"Seaweed Brain," she said while taking him in, "you look good."

He shook his head, refocusing, and Annabeth smiled to herself because she knew it was because of her. But of course, she would never say that.

"Annabeth, you look..." He trailed off and met her eyes, speaking seriously. "You look amazing."

Warmth filled her and Annabeth was suddenly embarassed. "It's nothing, Seaweed Brain, just a dress and some makeup..." She trailed off, taking in the wonderstruck look in his eyes. "Percy," she said, getting to to snap back from whatever daydream he was in. "It's just a dress."

He shook his head, even as he was speaking. "No," he said softly, "it's you." He took a breath. "You're beautiful."

A shiver went up her spine at that because his words were so raw and so honest she felt them right in her core. Suddenly she couldn't meet his eyes. "Percy..."

He reached up, almost shyly, to brush back a stray strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face. He pushed it behind her ear and cupped her cheek, forcing her to look at him. "I love you, Annabeth. So much. I couldn't live without you."

It was abrupt and the implications behind the words were huge but Annabeth couldn't help but smile back at him. "I love you too. You're everything I could ever need."

He leaned forward hesitantly to kiss her and Annabeth felt tingles shoot through her. His lips were warm and soft and the fireworks between them were consuming. She felt herself responding, leaning forwards to wrap her arms around his neck, him looping his arond her waist and they drew themselves closer until their chests were pressing against one another.

It started off slow and steady but gradually the kisses became more and more frantic. Want welled up in Annabeth's chest and she forgot her name and where she was. She forgot that two kids weren't allowed to be alone in the same cabin for exactly this reason, because they could get carried away. She forgot everything except Percy and how good his lips felt against hers, how much she liked having him pressed right against her and how she yearned for more.

He pulled away with a groan, and Annabeth was left panting for breath alone on the bed. When she finally remembered where she was she looked up to see Percy a few feet away and he looked almost...nervous.

"Percy?" She asked carefully in an almost hoarse voice. "Are- are you okay?"

He shook his head and wouldn't look at her, almost as if he couldn't look at her.

"Did- was it me?" She asked him.

He met her eyes and Annabeth saw they were a shade darker than usual.

Ah, she realized distantly. That was the problem.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I- we shouldn't have gotten so carried away."

She looked down, fiddling with her dress and now it was her who couldn't look at him. She heard a sigh and felt a weight dip the bed slightly beside her. Felt his warmth slowly reach her. When he took her face in his she saw he was back to normal, breathing normally and his eyes were light again.

He shook his head at her. "It's not your fault. I should know-well. I should have stopped sooner."

She smiled ruefully. "We need to get ourselves under control, don't we?"

He nodded. "I though, after we...ya know, it would be easier. But I-"

"Still want more." Annabeth finished for him. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Me too."

He looked up to meet her eyes and sighed. "It's already 7:30. We should get going."

"Yeah," she replied absently.

They looked at each other again and this time they rushed at each other, smashing their lips together. It was desperate, almost feral, and suddenly Annabeth knew she and Percy were going to be much later than half an hour to the dance tonight.

oooOOOooo

"Percy?" Annabeth asked as she picked up his jeans from the cabin floor and felt the box in his pocket. "What's this?"

Surprise filled his face and he reached around her to snatch the box from her hand. "What? Nothing."

She crossed her arms, and stared him down in her dress. And he stared right back at her, clad in only his shirt and boxers.

He relented after serveral seconds. "Fine," he blew out a breath. "It's your Christmas present. I was going to give it to you at the dance. Way to ruin the surprise."

Now it was her who was surprised. "Oh really?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

She held a hand out. "Alright, hand it over."

"No!" He exclaimed. "You can't have it yet. It's only Christmas Eve."

She sighed patiently. "Percy it's right in front of me. And you know one way or another I'll steal it from you. It would save us both a lot of trouble if you just handed it over now."

She saw his willpower waver and put on a fake pout. "Please?" She asked, making her grey eyes wide. "I really, really want it."

She heard him curse and smiled as he begrudgingly handed the box over.

It was black with a pink ribbon on the lid. When she shook it the object inside jingled and Annabeth nodded, ascertaining her suspicion that it was jewlery.

"Well?" Percy asked impatiently. "Are you going to open it?"

She shook her head at him but lifted the lid off the box nonetheless.

She gasped when she saw what was inside. "Percy... it's beautiful."

He smiled shyly and lifted up the charm bracelet. It was a silver chain and dangling from it was an a trident, an owl and an anchor. He spoke as he fastened it around her left wrist.

"I saw it in this trinket shop my mom likes to shop at and... well it reminded me of you. Of us. I figured the trident could symbolize me, and the owl and anchor could symbolize you."

"Me?" She asked in surprise. "Why am I the anchor."

He looked away, focusing a bit too hard on hooking the bracelet around her wrist. "Cause you're my anchor," he said and oh gods, it sounded so cheesy but Annabeth looked at him seriously, waiting for him to continue. He rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. "I mean during all of this," he gestured around him, "ever since I learned I was a demigod, my life has been chaos, ya know? There's always things trying to kill me, a prophecy I have to complete, a place in the Underworld I have to make it through. And you've been there, every step of the way." He looked up and met her eyes. "You've been there, Annabeth, and that means the world to me. Because when I was 12 the other campers would pick on me and you did too, but you didn't mean it like they did. You've been with me from the start, and so has Grover, but we've been through so much together... I needed something to ground me. To give me hope, and keep me going and just make sure it didn't all go to my head. And that's you, for me. You've always been there to come back to, to save me or yell at me, whatever I need. I couldn't have made it this far without you and I- I don't know how I could go on without you, either." He shrugged and breathed out deeply. "So yeah, you're my anchor."

Tears had filled her eyes and she gave him a watery smile. "Seaweed Brain-"

"And I know I don't say I love you as much as you say it to me, or as much as I should, but I do, Annabeth. I really, really do."

"Percy," she whispered, "stop."

He seemed to finally realize she was crying and immediately he was alarmed. "Oh gods, no- did I say too much? Are you okay."

She nodded and gave him another shaky smile and he paused, just looking at her, before wrapping his arms around her and holding her to him. She wasn't crying, not really, but one tear slipped out before she could blink it back.

"I love you," she whispered. "You're everything in the world to me."

He nodded his head above her. "I know."

"And when you were gone... I could hardly bear it."

"I know," he whispered again. "I'm so sorry for that."

She nodded. "And this year, I think I've been scared you would disappear again, ya know? Because last year you did on the break. And I've barely been able to let you out of my sight without panicking. And I know it's stupid, I know we talked to Chiron and made sure there was no more wars to fight after the giants, but I can't help it. Because if I ever had to go through that again, I don't know how I'd be able to survive. It physically hurt, Percy. It was worse than Tartarus because at least in there I had you."

He stayed quiet, just holding her, and that was the best thing he could have done. Because there was no solace for Annabeth when it came to that time in her life. She was too late to be comforted and nothing would make the past change. But as long as Percy held her, he was here. That was all Annabeth needed right now.

"Stay with me tonight. Don't leave me again."

His reply was one word. "Always."

And that was all she needed.

oooOOOooo

"Stop fidgeting Seaweed Brain, you look fine!" Annabeth scolded him.

They were all remade for the dance after their little... delay, and now, when they were walking towards the dining pavilion, Percy was still fidgeting with his shirt.

"If anything it should be me who's worried," Annabeth exclaimed. "I mean, you just have a shirt, tie and jeans. I have my hair and makeup and dress and shoes..." She trailed off and tugged her dress down subconsciously. "Do you think they'll be able to tell?"

Percy stopped and stood in front of her, taking her in. "No. Wait," he went to push that same strand of hair back behind her ear before leaning in to kiss her. "Now you're good."

She frowned at him but there was no annoyance behind it. Really the kiss had sent tingles to her toes and shivers up her spine but she couldn't show him that. Wouldn't want the boy getting cocky.

It was nearing 9 now and there was snow falling around them, creating a thin layer on the ground. Flakes were sticking in Percy's hair and Annabeth tried not to laugh at the sight.

She knew some must be getting in her hair too and she could feel some on her eyelashes, but she didn't care. She still felt beautiful and as long as Percy kept looking at her that way, like she was the only thing on earth, then she would be fine.

"Are you excited?" He asked her.

She nodded, and actually she was excited. This would be fun, there'd never been a dance at Camp before and it would be all the more enjoyable with Percy by her side. Much better than her school dances. "Are you?" She asked back.

He shrugged but took her hand. "I think it'll be fun. Definitely something if that music is anything to go by."

She smiled and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "C'mon Seaweed Brain, time to go and party."

He laughed as she dragged him behind her and when they reached the pavilion they stopped just outside.

"Ready?" He asked her and squeezed her hand.

She squeezed back."Ready."

And in they went.

They stopped and stared for a couple of seconds when they entered, just taking it all in. The music, the lights, the decorations, the tree, the food and the people... it was all absolutely perfect. It took Annabeth's breath away.

She heard Percy laugh beside her and turned to look at him. "What?" She asked him over the music.

He smiled before leaning in to kiss her softly. "You."

She pulled away and smiled back at him before a certain huntress caught her eye. "Look! It's Thalia! And she's with Nico."

Percy looked where she was looking and started making his way towards the pair, not letting go of Annabeth's hand as he did so. She hurriedly caught up to him before passing him.

"Thals!" She called out and saw the huntress turn in surprise just before she enveloped her in a hug.

"What are you doing here?" Annabeth asked her. "I figured you'd be in the Artemis Cabin tonight with the rest of the hunters."

But it appeared Thalia didn't hear her because a few seconds later she moved away from Annabeth to stand beside Nico who looked sort of uncomfortable.

It must have been the dance, Annabeth reasoned. Nico didn't like things like this.

"Hey Nico," she said to him while Percy greeted Thalia.

He glanced at her and seemed to force a smile. "Annabeth."

She smiled past her confusion but noticed him glance at Percy before taking a step back. She was about to say something, ask him what was wrong, but thenThalia and Percy hugged in front of them, cutting her off.

Thalia caught her eye and Annabeth finally took in what the 2 were wearing. Nico, dressed in all black formal atire, looked good. Really good, actually. Lot's of girls would be looking at him tonight, Annabeth was sure.

And Thalia... wait. What the Hades was Thalia wearing?

Thankfully she had a jacket to cover her upper body because that tank top... well it wasn't doing it. Was it intentionally meant to be that short and show her stomach? And that skirt and those boots along with the heavy makeup... this couldn't be the same girl who had taken care of her while she was on the run. The same girl who had joined the Hunters.

But it was. And if Thalia saw Annabeth and Percy's confusion she didn't show it.

She met Annabeth's eyes and jerked her head towards the tie Percy was wearing and Annabeth smiled and nodded, pointing to herself. Yes she had forced Percy to wear it tonight. With the promises of cookies, kissing and a present he would love.

Thalia smiled back at her and shook her head but said nothing and Annabeth could tell she was amused. It was funny, when you thought about it, but what really surprised Annabeth was the fact that it had worked.

"So," Percy said and took Annabeth's hand. "Where's the candy?"

Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Really, Seaweed Brain, the last thing you need is candy."

Percy gave her a fake look of wounded shock. "But I love candy."

Annabeth laughed and met his eyes, wondering if she could tell how amusing he was. By the look in his eyes as he stared back at her, she leaned towards no, no he couldn't.

She saw out of the corner of her eye as Thalia mimed puking, before standing straight to knock them out of whatever silent conversation they were having. "Excuse me while I go throw up some more," Thalia said. "But if you guys wanna keep acting like newlyweds then go ahead, Nico and I can leave."

Percy laughed, but Annabeth frowned at Thalia slightly. What was up with her? She was acting... weird. Before she could say anything about it though, Percy beat her to it. "It's not our fault you swore off boys, Thals, look at what you're missing," Percy said, gesturing to every guy in the room.

Thalia feigned interest, scanning the crowd quickly, before raising an eyebrow. "You just proved my point." She said bluntly.

Percy smiled at her and Annabeth laughed, brushing off her suspicions as reading too deep into things. Thalia was just same old Thalia.

Nico stood quietly though, not saying a word. Annabeth noticed it and apparently so did Percy because his next words were aimed at the son of Hades.

"So Nico, are you staying here for a while?" He asked, suddenly serious.

Confusion filled Annabeth again when Nico flinched at Percy's words, but nobody else seemed to notice. Had she imagined it?

What was going on?

"Actually-," Nico started but he didn't get to finish before Piper's voice interrupted.

"Hey guys!" She said. "Are you having fun?"

Jason came into their circle slightly behind his girlfriend and Annabeth noticed he looked at Nico with something like worry in his eyes.

Something was going on, Annabeth deduced when she saw Thalia meet her brother's eyes. Something to do with Nico.

"Well Annabeth and I just got here," Percy said. completely oblivious. "But it seems really cool. Definitely better than my school dances."

Annabeth turned to him in surprise, past moments forgotten, and raised an eyebrow at him. "You never told me you had school dances." She accused him.

Percy nodded, not catching her tone. "Yeah usually about three a year."

"Oh really," Annabeth said and forced a note of obvious calm in her voice. "Were there girls there?"

Percy met her eyes. "Wise Girl, it's a school dance." He said slowly, as if she were the one not catching on. "Of course there were girls there."

"Hmm..." Annabeth said, quiet for a moment. Finally though, she continued. "So did you dance with any of them?"

Percy looked at Jason but Jason just smirked and held up his hands as if in surrender. "I can't help you, Perce."

Annabeth metThalia's eyes and quickly winked before Percy looked back to her. "I don't dance." He said stupidly.

Annabeth crossed her arms, fighting off a smile. "You sure? Cause you're sounding pretty guilty."

Now Percy's eyes widened and she saw him panic. Gods, she was such a terrible girlfriend. Poor Percy thought she was being serious. "Seriously Annabeth, me and a bunch of guys would always just hang out in a corner shooting hoops or something."

After a few seconds silence everyone burst out laughing.

"Your face," Jason gasped out, "you should have seen your face!"

"Good one Anabeth," Piper said breathily, "oh gods, I'm crying!"

Annabeth smiled at the girl. "Thanks Piper."

Thalia placed a hand on Nico's shoulder suddenly. "Hey, guys, Nico and I are gonna go get some hot chocolate," she said. "We'll find you later and little brother, you are not escaping here tonight without giving me a dance."

Jason's eyes shot to Nico before he covered it up by smiling and nodding. But Annabeth still saw.

He answered her calmly. Too serious. "Sure."

Why were they all acting so guilty? Annabeth glanced at Piper but she seemed just like she usually was, albeit she was looking at her boyfriend a bit confused.

So Piper wasn't in on...whatever it was that was going on. That meant Thalia, Jason and Nico. Now why would those three be teaming up for anything?

Percy looked to Thalia long enough to shout, "I get a dance too, Pinecone Face," before turning back to their little circle.

Thalia kept backing away, dragging Nico with her. "Whatever you say, Kelp Head!" She shouted back, and then she was gone, leaving Annabeth, Percy, Jason and Piper.

Percy started talking but Annabeth tuned him out, focusing on the look on Jason's face. Poorly concealed worry was still worry and that was exactly what Jason was trying to hide. He kept glancing in the direction that Thalia and Nico had gone and Annabeth found herself more curious than ever.

"Hey Jason, how about a dance, hmm?" She asked him.

He looked at her in surprise before glancing to Percy and Piper who seemed confused. "Well-"

"C'mon," she held out a hand to him. "It'll be fun."

Percy looked over at her but she tried to send him a silent message. Later, I'll explain later.

He seemed to understand because he nodded. "Yeah, that's a great idea. Piper and I can dance too." He looked over at the daughter of Aphrodite. "If that's alright with you of course."

Jason seemed frozen and Piper looked a bit confused but went for it. "You're sure you guys don't want to dance with each other first? We know you just got here."

Annabeth shrugged. "I'm sure we'll be dancing together for the rest of the night. What's the big deal?"

Piper glanced at Jason before nodding slowly. "Alright then."

"Great!" Annabeth exclaimed, quickly grabbing Jason's hand. "C'mon Jason."

They made their way to the center of the dance floor and Annabeth forcefully put her hands on his shoulders and he hesitantly held her waist. He looked like he was about to say something but she beat him to it.

"So," she asked directly. "What's going on?"

He froze, looking at her in surprise. "What?" He asked. "Nothing, why would you think something's going on?"

She raised her eyebrows at him. "Dumb doesn't suit you, Jason. Is it serious? Should I be worried?"

He looked down at her. "Annabeth..." He said biting his lower lip. "It's not for me to tell."

She met his eyes and she saw honesty looking back at her. "Alright," she said finally. "I can handle that. But is it about me? Or Percy?"

He hesitated, not meeting her eyes.

"That's all I want to know Jason," she pressed on. "If it's not I can handle not knowing. But if it is I have to."

He met her eyes and sighed, nodding a bit. "It's not about you."

A sinking feeling appeared in her stomach. "Percy then."

"Annabeth, I really shouldn't be saying anything-"

"Is it bad? Something he did? Something he's going to do?" Annabeth worried out loud.

"It- it's not bad, per say, but... look I really shouldn't be the one telling you this."

"Well then who should?" She asked. "Thalia? Nico?"

This time Jason really did freeze and look at her, searching. "Why would Nico have anything to do with this?"

She studied him and nodded to herself. "Nico. That's who this is about then. Nico and Percy."

Something almost like fear came into Jason's eyes. "Annabeth-"

"What is it?" She asked him. "Does Percy know about... whatever's going on?"

Jason tensed. "No, Annabeth and you can't tell him. Please." He looked into her eyes, gripping her waist tighter. "I'm begging you."

She saw how serious he was and chewed her bottom lip nervously. She hated lying to Percy, she rarely did unless it was to protect him in some way. "Jason... you're asking me to lie to my boyfriend."

"Please," he pleaded. "He'll know soon, and it's nothing to worry about, I promise. He just needs to hear about it from someone else. And it's not really lying, it's just... not mentioning."

She met his blue eyes, so like Thalia's and felt her resistance crumble. "Fine," she said. "Alright. But I still want to know what it is."

"Ask Thalia, tomorrow. Not tonight, don't let it ruin the night. It can wait, I promise."

She met his eyes. "I'm trusting you Jason."

"I know," he replied seriously. "And I would never betray that trust."

She let out a breath and felt the feeling in her stomach ease off. "Alright. Okay. I'll forget about it until tomorrow." The song was ending and Annabeth pulled away. "Thanks for the dance Jason."

He nodded distractedly before moving to go find Piper. When Annabeth turned she saw Percy make his way towards her.

"My turn?" He asked hopefully, holding out a hand.

She smiled at him, pushing away the guilt that had suddenly risen inside her. "Of course. Lead the way Seaweed Brain."

They danced close together, with her head resting in the crook of his neck, her arms gripping his back and his pressing her against him from behind her back.

"So," he spoke directly beside her ear, causing shivers. "Care to explain what that was about?"

The guilt rose inside of her again but she forced it down. "Nothing important really. I'll tell you tomorrow if it turns into anything big. You wouldn't be interested otherwise."

She wondered if he heard the lie in her voice or the tone of guilt. But he just held her tighter and stayed quiet.

"Let's just forget everything else. All the problems and drama. Let's make tonight just about us. Okay?" He asked her suddenly.

She nodded, suddenly more grateful than ever he was her boyfriend. "Okay."

He leaned down again. "I love you."

She smiled against his neck. "And I love you."

They danced to a couple of more songs, just holding each other, being together, before they went to get hot chocolate. Percy ate one too many cookies and Annabeth had a candy cane or two. But they held hands most of the night, and that was really all Annabeth needed.

Percy had his dance with Thalia and Annabeth and Nico danced together eventually. Annabeth was about to ask him about whatever was going on but the look in his eyes stopped her. He seemed so... lost. And sad.

"So," she said with forced happiness, trying to forget about the big mystery of the night. "How long are you staying? I hope it's a while, Percy and I have really missed you."

Nico took a deep breath and Annabeth noticed his grip on her tightened. "I'm not really sure," he replied. "I guess I'll just see what happens."

He was being honest Annabeth could tell, but there was a bitter note in his voice that made her pause. "Nico?" She asked. "Is everything okay."

He looked at her and his eyes were so sad and he looked so alone that Annabeth resisted the urge to hug him. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Sorry?" She asked him in surprise. "Nico, why on earth would you be-"

"Hey guys!" Rachel called to them, pushing her way through the dancing couples and effectively cutting Annabeth off. "How's your night been so far?" She asked eagerly.

Nico dropped his hands from Annabeth's waist and stepped back, making her arms fall to her sides. "Look I should go find Thalia." He hesitated, glancing at both of them. "Merry Christmas you guys."

"Merry Christmas!" Rachel replied, confused, but Annabeth caught his hand and looked into his eyes before he could get away.

"Hey, Nico. Whatever it is... we'll get through it okay? Everything will be fine."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before gently pulling away. "Yeah. I know. Thanks for the dance Annabeth." He looked over to the red head. "See you around Rachel."

"Bye Death Breath!" The Oracle called back to him.

She jerked her head towards his retreating figure afterwards. "What's up with him?"

"Who? Nico? Nothing," Annabeth replied, maybe a bit too defensively. Protectiveness welled up inside her and she forced a smile. "He's just being Nico. Plus I think Thalia needed to talk to him about something anyways."

Rachel was quiet for a few seconds before shrugging, obviously forgetting about it. "Okay. Cool. So where's the Fish Boy? Technically I shouldn't be dancing with anyone but Percy's a pretty safe bet."

Old jealously threatened to come up but Annabeth forced it down, thinking there would be a reasonable explanation behind Rachel's train of thought. "Oh? Why's that?"

The oracle rolled her green eyes. "Duh. He's totally head over heels for you. Now have you seen him?"

Annabeth smiled, nodding slightly to herself. Of course Rachel had an explanation, fighting over Percy was in the past for both of them. "Last I saw he was with Thalia."

"Alright cool! Thanks Annabeth, I'll catch up with you later."

Annabeth nodded. "See you later."

She walked through the couples and almost missed Percy's raven black hair in front of her. "Seaweed Brain," she said. "Rachel's looking for you."

He turned in surprise and smiled at her. "Alright cool. I just spotted Travis and Katie, wanna come say hi?"

She smiled at him and nodded, taking his hand as he led her over to the couple.

"Hey guys!" Katie said. "How's your night going?"

"Great," Percy said and Annabeth tried not to blush when he looked over at her. "Really great."

"How about you guys?" Annabeth asked them.

Travis shrugged. "Oh you know us. Doing totally innocent things that don't have anything to do with kissing."

Annabeth raised an eyebrow at him while Katie elbowed him with an exclamation of "Travis!" and Percy just smiled.

"So you guys think this was a good idea then?" Travis asked suddenly. "The dance I mean."

Percy nodded. "Yeah, it's been pretty fun. And everyone else looks like they're having the time of their lives so..."

"So yes." Annabeth finished for him. "We think it's great. Yourselves?"

"Well I love it of course, but Katie over here isn't so enthusiastic." Travis said, draping an arm around her shoulders affectionately.

His girlfriend rolled her eyes. "Obviously he's lying. I think it's great too, it's actually been a lot of fun." She lifted a foot. "My feet are killing me though."

"Oh I know what you mean!" Annabeth exclaimed. "These heels are worse than hellhounds. Seriously, if it wasn't for sanitary reasons I would just take them off and go barefoot."

Katie nodded sympathetically while Percy and Travis struck up a conversation. "I feel your pain."

"10 SECONDS 'TILL CHRISTMAS PEOPLE, 10 SECONDS!" Connor yelled out to everyone.

Travis rolled his eyes. "I think Connor had too much hot chocolate."

"10!"

Annabeth turned to Percy. "Will you be my Christmas kiss Seaweed Brain?

"9!"

He grinned at her. "I wouldn't want it to be anybody else."

"8,7!"

They looked at each other, never breaking eye contact, before Percy spoke.

"6!"

"To Hades with it, I can't wait." He practically growled, before taking a step forward and smashing his lips to hers.

Annabeth didn't hear the rest of the countdown, or the shouts of Merry Christmas that were screamed throughout the room. She didn't take in anything except Percy's lips pressed against hers and him.

They pulled away and stared at each other. "Merry Christmas, Seaweed Brain."

"Merry Christmas, Wise Girl."

They linked hands and turned back to Travis and Katie, who had also just pulled away from one another.

Annabeth barely had time to smile before Katie squeeled and hugged her, and Annabeth hugged her back with one hand while Percy and Travis did... whatever guys did instead of hugging.

That was when the presents appeared.

Travis rushed off immediately with an elated cry of "presents!", pulling Katie behind him and she yelled out a quick apology before disappearing in the crowd. Percy looked over at her with raised eyebrows before holding out a hand.

"Shall we?"

She smiled and nodded. "We shall."

And so they went.

Percy handed out a few gifts to others before finally finding his own. It was wrapped in green paper, rectangular and small, it was about the size of his hand. It was clothing, Annabeth could tell that much from the feel, but what it actually was eluded her.

Her present was near his and wrapped in a shimmering gray paper. The moment Annabeth picked it up she knew what it was.

"A book."

"Mine's...socks?" Percy guessed.

She laughed at him. "You open yours first."

That was all the encouragement he needed before ripping open the paper. Of course he ripped it to shreds, no order at all, and just threw it behind him without a care in the world to where it landed.

Annabeth laughed at it.

It must have been a joke, she reasoned to herself. There was no way Poseidon was being serious.

Percy's gift was Finding Nemo boxers. And when Annabeth looked at them more closely she saw a note attached to them.

_'I thought we could match. I also have a pair and they're the comfiest ones I've come across in a while. - Poseidon, Ruler of the Seas, Brother of Zeus and Hades, One of the Big Three, Husband to Amphitrite, God 3 of the Olympian Council, Father to Perseus Jackson'_

When Percy looked up at her she was gasping for breath and there were tears in her eyes. They met each other's eyes for a moment before both of them burst out into renewed laughter.

"Okay, okay," Percy said when he had regained his breath. "My father is officially the worst at giving presents. But I think I'm gonna keep them."

Annabeth giggled. "I know how much you love Finding Nemo."

Percy grinned at her. "You open yours."

She looked down at the present in her hands before carefully unwrapping it. When she opened it she couldn't help but feel dissapointed.

It looked like a journal.

She looked over at Percy's new boxers with something like jealously. At least Poseidon had a sense of humor. At least he acted like he and his son had a comfortable enough relationship for a gift like that. Athena sent Annabeth nothing more than an empty book full of blank pages.

Great. Annabeth had always wanted a diary.

Not.

"Hey," Percy said softly, obviously seeing something of her emotions present on her face. "Open it."

The cover was a burgundy red and had a pattern of imprinted leaves, birds (owls included) and symbols on it that Annabeth didn't take the time to decipher. There was a ribbon bookmark of the same color attached to the top binding.

She looked up at him. "So I can look through empty pages?" She asked wryly, trying to hide her disappointment.

He raised his eyebrows at her, not fooled. "Open it." He repeated.

She sighed and lfted the cover and when she glanced back down at the pages she bit back a gasp. There were words on the page, and when Annabeth flipped through the rest of the book she saw about half of it was filled with diagrams, calculations, writing, ideas and more. When she flipped back to the first page she saw that it was in fact, a note.

_Annabeth,_  
_You may have wanted something different, but I thought if anybody could make use of this gift it would be you. In this book you'll find ideas that I've had and have either lost the enthusiam or time to pursure. I'm hoping you would perhaps like to take a look at them. What you do with them after that is up to yourself, of course. I've left half of this blank so that you could write in it yourself, maybe some of your own thoughts and ideas. Who knows, we may even have a chance to discuss them when it is filled. I'd love to see what your mind could create and design. _  
_I am so proud of you, my daughter. I wish I could have told you before, and more often. You've accomplished things that I don't think even I could handle (ahem, Arachne...) and I admire you for it. I am happy and filled with pride to tell anybody that Annabeth Chase is in fact my daughter. You and your siblings were the greatest achievements I've ever had. _  
_Merry Christmas, my daughter. I hope this year and the ones to follow are easier than this one past. _  
_(And as Annabeth read the next line she could practically hear the grudging note in her mother's voice.) _  
_Say hello to Poseidon's son for me. I... wish the two of you every happiness._  
_Sincerely, _  
_Your mother, Athena Goddess of Wisdom and Battle Strategy, God 6 of the Olympian Council_

Annabeth looked up at Percy with wonder and a smile on her face. "I love it," she marveled in surprise.

Percy smiled at her and took her in his arms. "Somehow I thought you would."

Annabeth smiled into his neck. "How did you know?" She asked him.

He shrugged. "She loves you," he said simply. "I know what it looks like, to love you, and I can see it every time she glances at you. And despite what you might suspect she knows you better than you think."

She pulled back to look at him. "When did you become so observant? It could have come in handy a few years back."

He smiled ruefully. "When it comes to other people around you I'm always observant."

She smiled a little before hugging him again. "Gods, I'm in love with you."

She felt him smile back at her. "I know you are." He leaned down to put his lips right beside her ear. "I'm in love with you too."

They stayed like that for a few moments before the people around them came up and started showing off their presents, asking what they got. Annabeth was asked multiple times about her new bracelet and Percy was cracking jokes about his father's gift for the rest of the night. Grover and Juniper came and stayed with them for the rest of the night. Artemis had sent gifts to the nature spirits and Grover and some of the other saytrs had recieved them from Dionysus.

"New reed pipes!" The saytr had exclaimed when he came up to them. "Dionysus got me reed pipes!"

"That was uncharacteristically nice," Percy mumbled under his breath but Annabeth elbowed him.

"Hush, Seaweed Brain. You like him deep down. And don't ruin this for Grover."

He sent her a mock hurt glance. "You hurt me, Wise Girl." He said quickly before turning to Grover. "That's great, G-man! No less than a member of the Council of Cloven Elders deserves though, Dionysus probably knew that."

Grover blushed and Annabeth spoke up from beside her boyfriend. "We're happy for you Grover."

He smiled at her. "Thanks guys. Hey, guess what Juniper got?"

She blushed slightly but smiled nonetheless. "It's nothing really," she said, "just some silly acorns."

"They're not silly," Grover said indignantly. "They're..."

Percy turned to Annabeth while Juniper and Grover were distracted. "Acorns?" He muttered with raised eyebrows. "Why would anybody-"

Annabeth gave him a quick glare. "Be nice," she warned.

He sighed but nodded before turning back to the couple in front of them, watching Grover continue his rant.

"That's so great!" Percy interrupted with extra enthusiam and Annabeth resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "Acorns! Love it."

Juniper smiled and the knowing look in her eyes made Annabeth suspect Percy's acting skills weren't as great as he thought. "Thanks, Percy," the dryad said rather sincerely.

Annabeth just smiled at her. "Merry Christmas."

Juniper laughed. "Merry Christmas." She glanced behind Annabeth for a moment before speaking again. "Oh! I'm sorry, usually I would stay longer, but it's almost one and I really should be getting back..."

Grover looked surprised. "Is it really that late already?"

Percy nodded. "I guess it is."

Dissapointment flooded the saytr's face before he smiled. "Well we'll see you guys tomorrow! Have a good night, and Merry Christmas."

Annabeth hugged him quickly. "Merry Christmas, Grover. Make sure you treat that girl of yours right."

He blushed and pulled back, muttering about mama goats as he hugged Percy.

Juniper and Annabeth hugged. "Tell me all about tonight," Juniper said. "We'll have to have a huge discussion with the other girls."

Annabeth nodded. The group of boys who were close friends (a.k.a Percy, Grover, Jason, Leo, Travis, Connor and Nico when he was around) would hang out constantly, usually bringing their girlfriends along. Eventually it ended up that the girls (Annabeth, Juniper, Piper, Katie and Connor's girlfriend, Claire) would just go and hang out by themselves while the boys did whatever they did.

"Of course. I'll see you tomorrow." Annabeth replied happily.

The couples said one more goodbye to one another before going their seperate ways. Annabeth checked the time and noted that it really was getting late. "There's ten more minutes until 1," she murmured to Percy. "And I really don't want to get caught in the crowds of people..." She trailed off, hoping he would get the hint.

Thankfully he did and held out his hand to her. "C'mon, I'll walk you to your cabin."

It was nice and quiet at they walked and Annabeth reveled in the feel of Percy's hand sending warmth to her. She carried her present in her left arm, held Percy's hand with her right, and couldn't remember feeling more content, more happy, than she did in that moment as it snowed around them both.

It was like a scene out of a book. Perfect and romantic. And just perfect.

They stopped on the step leading to the Athena Cabin's door and suddenly Annabeth was hit with deja vu.

_"So I'll see you tomorrow then?" Percy had asked her in front of her cabin amidst falling snow that only they were still outside to see and smelling like campfire._

_She had grinned at him. "Aww, look who's becoming the possesive boyfriend."_

_He had frowned at her. "No I'm not." He had defended._

_She'd laughed. "You are!"_

_He seemed stumped for a moment, but Annabeth rescued him by standing straighter so that they were eye to eye. "But it's okay," she whispered. "I like it."_

_His goofy grin had only stayed on his lips for a second before Annabeth kissed it off. She put her hands on his cheeks, he pulled her against him and they kissed, chaste and sweet._

_Percy had grinned when she pulled away. "So I will see you tomorrow then?" He had teased her._

_She pushed him playfully. "Course you will, dummy."_

_He hadn't stopped there though. "Promise?"_

_She had laughed. "Shut up and go to your cabin Seaweed Brain."_

_Percy grinned. But then Annabeth saw the teasing glint in his eye be replaced by something much more serious and suddenly he was kissing her again, lips opening under hers and capturing them posessively._

_He pulled away and the look on his face was almost sheepish. "I just felt like I had to do that."_

_She had looked at him curiously but he hadn't explained further so she shook her head. "Good night Seaweed Brain."_

_He kissed her quickly, so fast she hardly knew he was there before he was gone, walking backwards towards his cabin. "See you tomorrow, Wise Girl! Promise me!"_

_She laughed and watched as he turned and walked away towards Cabin Three. Away from her._

_And as she had watched his retreating figure a feeling had entered her stomach. Something like anxiety but... not quite._

_When she had woken up and discovered he was gone she had run that memory through her head over and over, constantly and obsessively. And all she had been able to think was that she should have given him that promise. That she should never have let him leave, never should have been so eager to be apart._

Now here they were, in the exact same position they had been in almost a year ago.

Percy must have sensed a change in her because he looke down (he had grown taller than her while he was gone) and met her eyes, concerned. "Annabeth?" He asked. "What is it?"

She shook her head. "Promise you'll see me tomorrow?"

Recognition flickered in his eyes and then he was scooping her up in his arms. "Annabeth," he murmured. "It won't happen again."

She clutched at him, hating how weak she must seem. But she couldn't help it, she needed him to be there when she woke up tomorrow. "You don't know that, can't know that. What if there's another quest, another problem... it will always be you the gods come to for help, Percy. You know that, I know that. I just- I couldn't stand it if you left without a word again."

He put a hand under her chin, forcing her to look at him through the moisture suddenly in her eyes again. "I won't be leaving again. Not without you. I promise."

She sighed. "I guess I'll never really stop worrying about it. A part of me will always have to make sure you're still here. With me."

He nodded his head above her. "I swear."

There was silence before he spoke again. "I swear on the River Styx," he said seriously. "That I will never, ever, leave you without warning again."

She gasped and pulled away to meet his eyes. Did he realize just how big of a statement that was? The gravity of what he just said?

But he was dead serious.

"Percy..." She trailed off.

He smiled weakly. "Sorry, Wise Girl, that's the best I can do for you right now."

She threw her arms around him again and felt centered, home. This was where she should always be found. With Percy.

And suddenly she knew what she had to say to make sure. "That's all I'll ever need. And I swear too. I swear on the River Styx to never leave you without you knowing where I'm going."

Thunder boomed above them and Annabeth smiled. There. Let the gods deal with that.

Percy's arms tightened around her. "Annabeth, you didn't have to..."

She kissed the side of his neck. "I wanted to."

He pulled back. "So you'll be okay if I go to my cabin now? Won't cause a riot?"

She glared at him mockingly. "Don't push it, Seaweed Brain."

"You sure? Cause you were starting to sound like a possesive girlfirend for a bit there." Percy replied with a teasing tone.

She stared at him in disbelief. "Are you serious right now?"

He nodded, comepletely straight faced. "So serious."

"Ugh!" She exclaimed. "You're hopeless."

He grinned. "But you love me anyways."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm seriously beginning to reconsider."

He nudged her. "Loosen up, Wise Girl. One day I'll think you're being serious."

She put her nose up pointedly and gave off an arrogant air. "Maybe I am."

Percy put a hand over his heart. "You hurt me," he teased. "I'm going to go cry myself to sleep at your cruel words."

She waved a hand. "I'm sure you'll survive."

He shook his head. "Your lack of concern astounds me."

"Ohhh, big words," she teased. "I'm so proud of you."

He grinned, "I learn from the best."

She shook her head and kissed his cheek, spotting people heading towards them from the dining pavilion. "The dance must be done, and I should really be getting to sleep."

He sighed. "Are you really so eager to have me go?"

She rolled her eyes. "Good night Seaweed Brain."

"Wait," he reached out and held her wrist. "Just a second," he murmured to her before kissing her again.

When he pulled away she was breathing heavily and looked at him in surprise. "Something for you to hold on to until tomorrow."

She smiled at him. "Night Percy."

He stepped away, still holding her hand until they were too far apart and he let it fall from his grip. "Night Annabeth."

He walked away backwards again and she didn't let him out of her sight. She saw people around them watching, heard them talking to themselves and laughing about the dance, but she didn't care. She didn't look away from those sea green eyes.

"I love you!" He called out to her in front of everyone when he was just 10 feet away from his own cabin.

She blushed but couldn't stop the grin from forming on her face. "Love you back!"

They went into their cabins at the same time and Annabeth brushed her teeth, put her hair up, cleaned her face of makeup and changed into her pj's in a daze.

She went to sleep with her mothers present beside her, not even bothering to scold her siblings for giggling and whispering to each other. When she rolled over she felt Percy's present under her pillow.

She smiled. She would give it to him tomorrow, when they saw each other.

She was sure of it.

oooOOOooo

**Now this is either the last chapter or I can write it from Percy's POV and then that will be the last chapter. Review and tell me what you guys would want.**

**Love you all! **

**Percyjacksonfan3**


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